COC announces vaccine mandate for Beijing 2022

Photo courtesy of olympic.ca

 

Announcement by Canadian Olympic Committee

 

TORONTO – On Wednesday, the Canadian Olympic Committee, with the support of its Board of Directors and Athletes’ Commission, notified all potential members of Canada’s Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games team that they must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to be named to Team Canada. 

 

“We know that the best way to keep athletes, staff, and the communities we live, train and compete in safe, is for all members of Team Canada to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. For that reason, and the recent announcement by the federal government that all air travellers must be fully vaccinated by October 30, 2021, we notified potential Beijing 2022 hopefuls and Mission Team members by email earlier today that they must be fully vaccinated to be named to Team Canada. In that email we encouraged anyone with questions or concerns to contact us or their National Sport Organization’s medical lead for support. 

 

We brought 840 people to and from the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games without a single positive case, and we want to do the same for Beijing. A fully vaccinated team following robust hygiene and physical distancing protocols is the best way to do that.”

 

David Shoemaker, CEO and Secretary General, Canadian Olympic Committee.