U.S. to offer athletes vaccine
The International Olympic Committee won’t require coronavirus vaccines of athletes competing at the Tokyo Games next summer, but the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee is working on a plan to educate American athletes and possibly facilitate immunization for its Olympic hopefuls.
USOPC officials said on a conference call Monday that the organization would encourage Team USA athletes to take the vaccine when it becomes available. When asked whether the organization would mandate a vaccine for its athletes, Sarah Hirshland, the USOPC’s chief executive, said a full plan had not yet been developed.
“Certainly we’ll have discussions about access, availability, the proper timing, ensuring we understand any potential allergy reactions, side effects, things of that nature,” she said, “so we canbe very thoughtful as we are providing information tothe athlete community as they make their decisions and choices. ... Suffice it to say, we will encourage and make available to those who desire it, a vaccine.”
Many leagues and sport organizers are hoping the vaccine brings some normalcy to the 2021 competition calendar, though most officials are also publicly saying they have no inten-tion to jump the line. Hirshland said the country’s priority right now should be vaccinating people who are high-risk and also working on the front-line of the COVID-19 battle, not necessarily athletes.
“As time goes on and the vaccine becomes more readily available, we certainly will be ready to be supportive of our athletes and the rest of the delegation aswe think about going abroad,” she said.
The United States will send550-600athletes to Tokyo next summer for the postponed Summer Games. The American delegation likely will number hundreds more, including coaches, staff and officials.
Hirshland said the USOPC is still a month or two away from finalizing any sort of vaccine plan for its Tokyo-bound delegation.
While the USOPC’s board of directors was meeting last week, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) reduced Russia’s ban from high-level international competition from four years to two, sparking frustration and outrage in some Olympic corners.
“The ruling sort of watered down many of the sanctions that [the World Anti-Doping Agency] had initially imposed,” said Susanne Lyons, the chair of the USOPC board. “We don’t believe it honors clean athletes or builds confidence in the global antidoping system.”