Australian slalom canoeist Jess Fox has put her hand up to receive the COVID vaccine to feel ‘safer’

Australian Olympic officials are confident competitors will receive the AstraZeneca vaccine before next month – and Jess Fox will be at the head of the queue.

Olympic silver medallist Jess Fox has put her hand up to receive the COVID vaccine to feel “safer” to compete in Tokyo as chiefs confirm all athletes should receive the jab within a month.

With just 100 days until the revised Tokyo Olympics goes ahead, uncertainty around the vaccine rollout continues.

The Victorian government on Monday extended its pause on the rollout of the AstraZeneca vaccine, the most widely available COVID-19 vaccine in Australia, to people under 50 amid fears of lengthy delays to the overall rollout.

However, Australian Olympic Committee chief executive Matt Carroll is optimistic that athletes and officials will receive the AstraZeneca vaccine before the AOC’s deadline of next month when athletes travel overseas to compete in warm-up events before the Tokyo Games start on July 23.

“We are quite confident that we are sitting here in April, the Games aren’t until July and the Prime Minister wants the national cabniet meeting twice a week to make this happen,” Carroll said.

“So, we’ve got every confidence that it will happen.

“The Games were designed around pre-vaccine, so the Games were actually designed to be held without a vaccination.

“The vaccination is a bonus.”

It comes as some athletes have expressed reservations about receiving the vaccine, even though the jab isn’t compulsory.

Australian slalom canoeist Jess Fox has put her hand up to receive the COVID vaccine to feel ‘safer’. Picture: Brodie Crawford- Jamie Troughton/ Describe Media

Fox, who won silver at the London Olympics, is one athlete who wants to receive a vaccination to feel comfortable amid a global pandemic.

There are fears Japan is in the midst of a fourth wave of COVID-19, with case numbers again in the thousands each day.

“For me personally, I will get the vaccine,” said Fox, who has won a silver and bronze medal at the past two Olympics in 2012 and 2016.

“I think it is an opportunity to arrive in Tokyo feeling a bit more serene and maybe safer.

“You want to arrive at the Olympics fit, healthy, and if you do have to go overseas and compete before the Olympics, obviously COVID is more prevalent over there.

“So, having a vaccine would make me feel safer.

“But obviously it is really important for our community as well, so we will wait on the AOC’s advice and go with what they think.”

Olympian kayaker Jess Fox with her bronze medal from the 2016 Rio Olympics. Picture: Craig Greenhill

Initial plans from the Australian government to have four million Australians vaccinated by the end of March didn’t eventuate, and Prime Minister Scott Morrison is reluctant to set new targets as Australia wrestles with the challenges of the rollout.

But Carroll said discussions with federal Health Minister Greg Hunt had been encouraging, with all options on the table to get the team vaccinated before Tokyo.