83% of American athletes at the Tokyo Games fully vaccinated

July 23, 2021 – Eighty-three percent of U.S. Olympians at the Tokyo Summer Games are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to Jonathan Finnoff, DO, medical chief of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee.

That’s higher than the 59.7 percent of U.S. adults vaccinated, according to CDC statistics, and far higher than Japan’s national vaccination rate of 23.2 percent.

“Eighty-three percent is actually a substantial number, and we’re very happy with that,” he told NBC News.

The opening ceremony for the Summer Games took place on Friday, with thousands of athletes from around the world marching through a nearly empty stadium. Due to COVID-19, spectators have been virtually banned from all events.

NBC News quoted the International Olympic Committee as saying that 13 COVID-19 infections have been reported among athletes in the Tokyo Olympic Village. The IOC estimates that 85% of athletes and staff staying in the village are vaccinated. The IOC did not require athletes to be fully vaccinated to compete.

American athletes known to have tested positive in Japan are beach volleyball player Taylor Crabb and gymnastics team replacement Kara Eaker, NBC News reported.

The positive tests before leaving for Japan were Katie Lou Samuelson, a member of the women’s 3×3 basketball team, and tennis player Coco Gauff, according to CNN. NBA star Bradley Beal has been placed in USA Basketball’s health and safety protocols and has also retired.

Czech team theft investigated after the team’s outbreak

Six members of the Czech delegation to the Olympics, including four athletes, tested positive for COVID-19, which led the Czech Olympic Committee to launch an investigation to find out whether appropriate precautions were observed during the flight of the team to Tokyo, United States today reported.

The plane was carrying 42 people, including 14 athletes, United States today said, citing the Czech news agency. The plane landed in Tokyo last Friday.

United States today said there had been reports that some people on the flight did not wear masks all the time and that an unvaccinated doctor was among the passengers and may have contributed to the spread.

Czech athlete: a positive test “a nightmare”

One of the Czech athletes who tested positive and absent from the Games, beach volleyball player Markéta Nausch-Sluková, said it was devastating to know her Olympic dream had been destroyed. Her husband, beach volleyball coach Simon Nausch, also tested positive.

“We cried, then we swore, then we cried again,” Sluková-Nausch said, describing how she and her teammate Barbora Hermannova reacted, according to CNN. Her positive test means that Hermannova will not be allowed to compete either.

“I just hope no other athlete follows us, because I think something like that is a nightmare for any athlete, for any Olympian, who goes so far, so close to Olympic competition “she said.