The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s medical director has determined that about 100 American Olympic athletes are not vaccinated against the COVID-19.
The approximate number came from the health surveys that the 567 athletes completed ahead of the team’s departure for Japan.
According to the survey, 83 percent of those athletes revealed that they are fully vaccinated.
“Eighty-three percent is actually a substantial number, and we’re quite happy with it,” said Jonathan Finnoff, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s medical chief.
The restrictions, however, will continue to apply to all athletes, regardless of their vaccination status.
“The best thing to do is to assume everyone’s at risk and reduce risk by introducing Covid mitigation measures that we know work,” Finnoff added.
However, recent COVID-19 outbreaks in the Olympic village raise concerns for the U.S. athletes who have not been vaccinated.
Earlier in July, Michael Andrew, the U.S. Olympic swimmer, revealed that he was not vaccinated ahead of coming to Japan.
“I am not fully vaccinated, I’m not vaccinated,” Andrew said. “My reason behind it is, for one, it was kind of a last moment, I didn’t want to put anything in my body that I didn’t know how I would potentially react to.”
“As an athlete on the elite level, everything you do is very calculated and understood,” Youndrew added. “For me, in the training cycle, especially leading up to trials, I didn’t want to risk any days out. There were periods where you take a vaccine, you have to deal with some days off.”
All athletes competing in Tokyo are subject to strict COVID-19 health protocols.
