Filipino Olympian Hidilyn Diaz fully vaccinated after overcoming AstraZeneca fears – ‘even scarier to think about catching Covid-19’

Rio 2016 Olympic weightlifting silver medallist receives second dose of AstraZeneca vaccine in Malaysia and encourages fellow Filipinos to get jabs

The 30-year-old says she was initially reluctant because of vaccine’s link to blood clots but says it is important to protect herself and those around her

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Hidilyn Diaz after receiving her second dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine in Bangi, Malaysia. Photo: Handout

Published: 2:10pm, 6 Jul 2021Updated: 5:38pm, 7 Jul 2021

Filipino gold medal hope Hidilyn Diaz said she overcame her fears to become fully vaccinated against Covid-19 and is urging her compatriots to do the same.

The 30-year-old weightlifter, a silver medallist in the 53kg women’s competition at the Rio Olympics in 2016, received her second dose of the AstraZeneca over the weekend – despite the risk of blood clots that have been linked to the vaccine manufactured by the British-Swedish company based in Cambridge, England.

“I read in the news a lot of things about this vaccine, about the side effects and initially I was very scared,” Diaz, who is training in Malaysia ahead of the Tokyo Olympics, told the Post. “This was especially the case because I have the Olympics coming up and was concerned if it would affect my preparations.

“However, it’s even scarier to think about the consequences if I’m exposed to Covid-19 at the Olympics. There are a lot of athletes from different parts of the world, and the Delta variant is spreading.

“So, it’s better to have at least a little protection than not to have any protection at all against Covid-19. I think the vaccine risks are much lower than the risk to your life if you get the coronavirus. That’s why I encourage [Filipinos] to register for your vaccination programme to protect yourself and those around you.”

The Australian government has recently stopped people aged 50 to 59 from receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine because of the risk from blood clots. As of April 21, the United Kingdom reported 41 deaths from 209 who suffered from blood clotting linked to the vaccine.