The Australian Open 2022, which starts on January 17, became the first tennis tournament to introduce the vaccine mandate for the players. Since then, the conversation has revolved around whether Novak Djokovic, whose vaccination status is unknown, is going to play.
However, on Tuesday night it was confirmed that a “small percentage” of players and staff could receive a medical exemption to attend the event without being vaccinated against Covid-19. He also said he was not aware of any players informing Tennis Australia they had an exemption.
The news caused some people to complain on Twitter, as they felt that this rule would allow players who are unvaccinated for other reasons different from medical to play in the tournament. However, the process to get a vaccine medical exemption is not easy, and it’s supervised by external health authorities.
Australian Open 2022: How the medical exemption works?
According to the BBC, Tennis Australia explained that in order to get an exemption, the applications would be reviewed by an independent panel of doctors from the fields of immunology, infectious disease and general practice.
Also, the applications will be subjected to a second review by a government-appointed panel of medical experts, the Independent Medical Exemption Review Panel, after they were approved by Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (ATAGI).
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the United States, some people may be at risk for an adverse reaction due to an allergy to one of the vaccine components or a medical condition.
However, whatever the status of the players and their staff, they are not obligated to disclose their status to Tennis Australia, according to the screening process established on ATAGI guidelines.
