All U.S. Olympians and Olympic hopefuls for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing must be vaccinated against COVID-19, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) has announced.
It said on Wednesday that all USOPC employees and contractors must be vaccinated by November 1.
”Anyone hoping to be part of the U.S delegation in Beijing must be vaccinated by December 1,” the committee added.
As with most organisational vaccine requirements, exceptions are allowed for medical and religious reasons.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has not issued any vaccine mandate for the Beijing Games, which starts February 4.
Vaccine access remains inconsistent throughout the world, with richer countries holding many more doses.
An estimated 240 U.S athletes will travel to China for the Games, a far cry from the 600-plus who went to Tokyo earlier this year for the Summer Olympics.
Neither the U.S nor the IOC required vaccines for the Tokyo Games.
The USOPC estimated that 83 per cent of the American delegation was vaccinated, with the IOC putting the number at 85 per cent among all Olympians.
