A Winter Olympics display in Tian'anmen Square, Beijing, China, on Thursday. Photo: VCG/VCG via Getty Images
All of the roughly 240 American athletes going to next month's Beijing Winter Olympic Games have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, Team USA's top doctor told AP on Thursday.
The big picture: There was no vaccine requirement for American Olympians at last year's Summer Games in Tokyo, and about 100 of the 613 Team USA athletes competing in the event were unvaccinated.
- The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee changed its policy in September to require all employees, athletes and contractors be vaccinated against the coronavirus.
What they're saying: Jonathan Finnoff, chief medical officer of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, told AP a combination of education from the governing body and the 21-day quarantine requirement for unvaccinated participants in Beijing "really resonated with the athletes."
- "Vaccination is sort of the foundation of our COVID mitigation protocol," Finnoff, added.