Topline
Formula 1 will require the Covid-19 vaccine for all drivers for the 2022 season, several news outlets reported Monday, a step that no other major sport has made. Here’s the state of play among other leagues:
Key Facts
Formula 1’s mandate will cover all drivers and personnel, not allowing for any exemptions, according to The Times, Reuters and the BBC, but is not expected to cause a stir as all drivers are believed to be vaccinated already, the BBC reports.
Other major sports have stopped short of requiring vaccination among its players, instead incentivizing people to receive the shot by implementing harsher restrictions against unvaccinated players.
All major American team sports – Major League Baseball, National Basketball Association, National Football League and National Hockey League – have required the shot for staff but not for players, and player vaccination rates are at about 86% in the MLB, 97% in the NBA, 95% in the NFL and 99% in the NHL.
The English Premier League has no vaccine mandate, and 84% of its players have received at least one Covid-19 vaccination dose as of January 9.
Formula 1’s American racing series counterpart NASCAR has not had nearly the same success in vaccinating its drivers: NASCAR president Steve Phelps said in November that the vaccination rate among drivers is “not high enough,” though Phelps did not share drivers’ vaccination rate.
The International Tennis Federation and Women's Tennis Association have not announced vaccine mandates for its players, but that doesn’t preclude tournaments from requiring vaccination, and the Australian government famously barred top-ranked men’s tennis player Novak Djokovic from playing in this month’s Australian Open for being unvaccinated against Covid-19.
Surprising Fact
Formula 1 star Lewis Hamilton shared and later deleted a video to his Instagram in 2020 promoting the debunked conspiracy theory that the Covid-19 is implanted with a microchip, but later had a change of heart about the vaccine, promoting the vaccine alongside other Formula 1 drivers. Hamilton, whose seven Formula 1 titles are tied for the most of all-time, placed No. 8 on Forbes’ 2021 “Highest-Paid Athletes” list thanks to $82 million in earnings.
Further Reading
Covid-19 vaccines will be mandatory for everyone in Formula One paddock (The Times)
13 Of The 50 Highest-Paid Athletes Wouldn’t Say If They Were Vaccinated In 2021 (Forbes)
"here" - Google News
January 31, 2022 at 10:27PM
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Formula 1 Requires Covid Vaccines: Here's Where Other Major Sports Stand - Forbes
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