Aussie Olympic swimmers to delay second COVID-19 vaccine shots after complaining of soreness

The rush to vaccinate Australia’s Olympic swimmers before Tokyo has been paused after some of the athletes suffered side effects following their first shot.

Australia’s Olympic swimmers have been granted special permission to delay their second COVID-19 vaccination shots after some of our top medal hopefuls experienced minor side effects from their first injections.

None of the swimmers suffered any major adverse reactions when they received their initial Pfizer doses this week but the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) isn’t taking any chances so has agreed to a request to delay the timing of their second shots

The Dolphins – who unveiled the stunning new Speedo swimsuits they will wear in Tokyo on Thursday – were due to receive their second jabs from May 31-June 4 as part of the general rollout to all Australian Olympians and Paralympians.

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But with the Australian Olympic swimming trials due to start in Adelaide on June 12, Swimming Australia officials asked the AOC if competitors could suspend their second shots until shortly after the trials end of June 19.

“We understand there’s not a lot of implications with that second job, but there’s still kind of the possibility of some flu like symptoms,” Swimming Australia chief executive Alex Baumann said.

The Australian team showing of the uniform for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics. Picture: Saeed Khan/AFP

“So we did have conversations with the AOC about possibly moving that to after trials and we’re appreciative.

“We just didn’t want any kind of distractions or possibilities.”

The Australian Olympic team’s chef de mission Ian Chesterman said officials had no hesitation in agreeing to the request, saying it made complete sense and was just a precaution.

“Obviously we need to try and make this work as fast as we can, so we’ve endeavoured to get all the people across the Olympic and Paralympic teams vaccinated, so we need to get things moving as quickly as possible to give it as much time as possible close to the last injection before they go to the Games,” he said.

“Swimming approached us about delaying that second shot until after their trials, which is fair enough and pretty easy to facilitate because they’re all in one spot at one time so that’s still the most efficient way.”

It was only late last month that the federal government finally confirmed that all Australian competitors and support staff heading to Tokyo this year will be given priority access to vaccinations.

With no time to lose, Olympic and Paralympic officials sprung into action, organising Pfizer vaccination shots for over 2000 people, which began across the country this week.

However, the timing of the second injections was too close to the swimming trials – which are among the most competitive and cutthroat in the world – and the decision to add another fortnight between jabs was made easy after several swimmers reported minor soreness in their arms from their first doses.

“We got vaccinated on Monday, it went pretty well. My arm was a little bit sore for a couple of days but that’s the same with most vaccinations,” Rio Olympic gold medallist Emma McKeon said at the Speedo launch

“I did notice it but it didn’t stop me from doing anything, I could still train like normal.

“We’ve heard that the second one sometimes hits you a bit harder than the first one so it’ll be good to get that after we’ve raced and had a few days to recover.”

Originally published as Aussie Olympic swimmers to delay second COVID-19 vaccine shots after complaining of soreness