The United States only wants to send fully vaccinated athletes and companions against the coronavirus to the Beijing Winter Olympics (February 4-20, 2022). This stems from the guidelines now published by the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC). The regulations state that effective November 1, all employees, athletes, contractors, and others with access to USOPC facilities must be vaccinated. By December 1, the mandate will be extended to all members of US delegations or potential participants in future games.

At the Summer Games in Tokyo, the USOPC has yet to prescribe a Covid-19 vaccine for its members. About 100 of the 613 athletes on the US team traveled to Japan without a protective vaccination last July. Among them was swimmer Michael Andrew, who was heavily criticized during the Games for not wearing a face mask when in contact with media representatives. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has also not issued a mandate to vaccinate people who are active. The USOPC wants to examine exceptions to vaccination requirements on a case-by-case basis.