(Reuters) - Olympic champion sprinter Yohan Blake of Jamaica said he would rather miss the Tokyo Games than get the COVID-19 vaccine, although getting vaccinated will not be required of the athletes competing there this summer. "My mind still stays strong, I don't want any vaccine, I'd rather miss the Olympics than take the vaccine, I am not taking it," he was quoted as saying in Jamaican newspaper The Gleaner. The International Olympic Committee has said getting the vaccine is "encouraged" but not compulsory for athletes. "Follow your mind, don't follow the crowd," the two-time Olympic gold medalist said in a video posted to Twitter on Saturday. The Jamaican government is expected to receive its first shipment of the vaccine next week, The Gleaner reported.

Source: The Star March 01, 2021 00:45 UTC