Olympians who are shooting for the gold don’t need to have their COVID-19 vaccines, according to the International Olympic Committee.
The IOC announced in its playbook on Wednesday that despite the organization’s support for global vaccination efforts, coronavirus vaccines will not be required for athletes participating in the international sporting event.
“When vaccinations are made available to [the] public, the IOC calls for Olympic and Paralympic teams to be vaccinated — given their role as ambassadors of their NOCs and NPCs, and given the role of sport ‘to promote safe sport as a contributor to the health and wellbeing of individuals and communities,’ as recently stated in a UN resolution,” the playbook’s guidance on vaccination said. “Nonetheless, [athletes] will not be required to have received a vaccine in order to participate in the Games.”
Despite the rejection of a vaccination requirement, the IOC said athletes would be required to partake in regular temperature checks and screenings for COVID-19 in order to ensure the safety of all attending the event, which is scheduled to take place between July 23 and Aug. 8.
The decision not to mandate vaccinations comes after Japan grappled with domestic controversy about its decision to host the international sporting event. Two recent surveys of the nation’s residents found that 80% of those polled indicated the Olympics should be canceled or pushed back or said they were doubtful the international competition would occur.
In response to the uncertainty, Florida volunteered to assume the responsibility of hosting the 2021 Olympics. However, Japan insisted that the games will be played in Tokyo as planned, regardless of the state of the pandemic.
“We will hold the Olympics, regardless of how the coronavirus looks,” Tokyo 2020 President Yoshiro Mori said on Tuesday. “We must consider new ways of hosting the Olympics.”
Japan has taken added precautions to prevent the transmission of the disease throughout the country due to the Olympic games. Those flying to Tokyo for the event will be required to submit proof of negative COVID-19 tests 72 hours before flying, and those exhibiting symptoms within 14 days of traveling will be prohibited from entry.
Olympics attendees will also be restricted inside the arena. Participants, who must remain masked during all indoor events except when eating or sleeping, will be required to download the Japanese government’s contact-tracing application, documenting in real time every activity during the 14-day event. Athletes are encouraged to limit social activity and will be barred from using public transit.
“This is to contribute to the safe environment of the Games, but also out of respect for the Japanese people, who should be confident that everything is being done to protect not only the participants, but also the Japanese people themselves,” the organizers said.
The IOC will publish two updated versions of the “Playbook” in April and June, which are expected to address the possibility of fans attending the sporting event. Organizers said a determination about the permissibility of audiences will be published by spring.
Data from Johns Hopkins University coronavirus tracker reported that Japan has had 394,269 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the outset of the pandemic, and 5,952 total fatalities have been attributed to the disease.
