Team USA will only consider vaccinated athletes for 2022 Winter Olympics

US athletes trying to make the Winter Olympics will have to be fully vaccinated for Covid-19 under a groundbreaking new policy announced on Wednesday by the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee.

The organization’s CEO, Sarah Hirshland, wrote in a letter obtained by the Associated Press that, starting on 1 November, the USOPC will require staff, athletes and others using USOPC facilities to be vaccinated. The requirement, she said, “will also apply to our full Team USA delegation at future Olympic and Paralympic Games.”

According to the team website, athletes will have to show proof of vaccination by 1 December. The US is expected to send around 240 athletes to the Winter Olympics, though the mandate will affect anyone with hopes of making the final squad. The Games are due to start on 4 February 2022.

The International Olympic Committee has been encouraging vaccines but did not require them for athletes who competed in this year’s Summer Olympics. With that guidance, most national Olympic committees, including the USOPC, followed suit by strongly recommending the vaccines but not requiring them. The IOC’s first “Playbook,” a booklet offering health-related and other guidance for the Winter Games, is due out next month.


https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/sep/23/team-usa-vaccine-mandate-2022-winter-olympics-covid-19-beijing