Djokovic gets medical exemption while Indian teen denied entry to Aus Open.

[CaliforniaDrumming]

Vaccine inequity in operation. Novak Djokovic gets a medical exemption from being vaxxed for the Australian Open, while a 17-yr-old Indian player is denied entry because India has not begun vaccinating the under 18.

gulfnews.com/sport/tennis/australian-open-indian-tennis-teen-slams-double-standards-on-djokovic-1.84772010

If medical privacy was really an issue for him, perhaps he and his wife should not have been so publicly anti vax....

@BathTangle By ‘anti vax’ you mean that he is anti this particular vax? No doubt he has had plenty of others.

@KeepingAnOpenMind

Quite a few footballers and other athletes have suffered myocarditis and collapsed after being vaccinated so it is understandable that a top athlete is reluctant.

He has also recovered from Covid and thus has antibodies.

Surely even the most ardent Mumsnet Covid Cultist would be happy with an antibody test or LFT to prove this athlete is Covid free? Given the potential side-effects, isn’t it right for an athlete who has made incredible sacrifices to be cautious?

Given that the majority of the UK are against vaccine mandates it is interesting that many posters on this site apparently support this draconian measure.

Is there any evidence for your first statement? I haven't seen anything other than debunking it as a rumour.

Given the potential side-effects, isn’t it right for an athlete who has made incredible sacrifices to be cautious?

Eh?! What 'incredible sacrifices' has he made....

I understand he is known to be anti-vaccination in general. However if he doesn't actually have a valid medical reason for the exemption then that means that the Victoria government and the AU tennis ruling body have both decided to completely over-ride the rules and allow him to play.

Does that seem feasible? I know very little about tennis or Australian politics so it's genuine question. It has stoked so much resentment it would seem to be a very risky thing to do for all concerned if he has no valid reason whatsoever.

@KeepingAnOpenMind what "incredible sacrifices" has he made?

so do we now know on what basis he was granted medical exemption?Asking as Tennis Australia's CEO says himself, anyone can have an exemption if they had covid in the past six months...
...which is pretty much half the world by now.

Cross Post with @CaliforniaDrumming
Apologies

@CorrBlimeyGG

I don't understand why any of the athletes must be vaccinated?

Unlike jobs where you are in every day and front line they can arrive and isolate and test before matches.

They have masses of people around them. They can't all isolate from the rest of the population.

But the vaccine protects them from serious illness and hospitalisation.

It won't stop the spread. And the testing means they aren't positive to spread it anyway.

I'm pro vaccine and have had all 3. I'm also very against the way our government is now allowing people to get on a plane who may be positive.

But I cannot see how being vaccinated will make a difference. And I say that with regards the young Indian player who cannot get a vaccine in their country and isn't being allowed in.

If he doesn’t want to be vaccinated he doesn’t have to be. However to allow him to avoid restrictions (unless he is genuinely exempt) when Australians have been suffering is disgusting.

@Eastie77Returns

I understand he is known to be anti-vaccination in general. However if he doesn't actually have a valid medical reason for the exemption then that means that the Victoria government and the AU tennis ruling body have both decided to completely over-ride the rules and allow him to play.

Does that seem feasible? I know very little about tennis or Australian politics so it's genuine question. It has stoked so much resentment it would seem to be a very risky thing to do for all concerned if he has no valid reason whatsoever.

The only realistic explanation for him getting an exemption right now is a previous covid infection within the last 180 days.

Nobody is buying the more arcane explanations like: reaction to vaccines, medical condition, needle phobia etc..

It is also within the realm of reason that he got a friendly Doctor (s) to write some medical exemption papers for him. I would not put it past him as he is very narcissistic.

I don't think it's a question really of mandatory vaccines. Is whether he's been given special treatment when Australia has very strict entry requirements - whether you agree with them or not - and severe restrictions at the moment. Plus the fact that he's a knob in general.

It is also within the realm of reason that he got a friendly Doctor (s) to write some medical exemption papers for him. I would not put it past him as he is very narcissistic.

Yep. And very rich too.

@KeepingAnOpenMind

Quite a few footballers and other athletes have suffered myocarditis and collapsed after being vaccinated so it is understandable that a top athlete is reluctant.

He has also recovered from Covid and thus has antibodies.

Surely even the most ardent Mumsnet Covid Cultist would be happy with an antibody test or LFT to prove this athlete is Covid free? Given the potential side-effects, isn’t it right for an athlete who has made incredible sacrifices to be cautious?

Given that the majority of the UK are against vaccine mandates it is interesting that many posters on this site apparently support this draconian measure.

Your first statement re footballers is completely false. I personally would like you to show me the info from a reliable source.

In fact up to 150 footballers a year die sudden heart issues whilst playing football. This year has seen no increase.

https://www.science20.com/wglennpyle/afalseestartforrsuddencardiaccdeathinnathletesanddcovid19_vaccines-255817

@itsgettingweird

Putting aside his arrogance.

I don't understand why any of the athletes must be vaccinated?

Unlike jobs where you are in every day and front line they can arrive and isolate and test before matches.

Vaccination status will make no difference to any of the players of someone tests positive.

Why do any regular folk have to have it then? It always has and always will be one rule for them one rule for us.

@Flyonawalk

Anyone in Australian who is angry about this should be angry with their government, surely, for imposing suck long lockdowns. Not blaming a visiting professional for maintaining his medical privacy.

But people haven't been able to see families for so long in Australia or travel. They are allowing him in with an exemption. If they can do that for him they can do it for everyone else. Just because he's famous, has money and known world wide he shouldn't be treated differently.

@ShmeevilWeevil

I don't particularly like djokovic but he is probably the greatest tennis player of all time. It would seem unfair to deny him the opportunity to compete and prove his GOAT status because he hasn't been vaccinated. Perhaps the tournament should have been moved to a remote island somewhere to avoid this situation.

Why do great tennis players get the opportunity to play while players from poorer countries who are unable to get the vax kept out? That's unfair to me.

The obvious reason is money, but it's still unfair.

Agree the issue is not whether he "should" have the vaccine but whether he should be an exception to Australia's particularly stringent rules.

And what incredible sacrifices has he made to be cautious @KeepingAnOpenMind?
In 2020 he (against advice) organised a charity tournament where nearly everyone including himself and his wife, got covid. That doesn't sound like someone taling extra precautions

I think Djokovic has proven himself to be a total idiot throughout most of the pandemic.

Wasn't he having a strop and organising his own tennis tournament during the first wave of the pandemic? Then during that tournament he and several other people ended up catching Covid.

He clearly shown the only thing he regards as important is himself and him doing exactly as he pleases .

If he does play the crowd are likely to give him a very cold response.

My own theory is that he used his previous infection with lots of medical backing to get his exemption.

Keep in mind that rhe 180 day number (for previous infection) is an average based on a population size cohort. This is derived by modelling antibody levels of infected people (over various populations) and establishing a baseline of what antibody levels are "high enough" to offer protection. This is somewhat subjective as it does require expert medical judgment.

If he can show that his antibody levels now are higher than needed (vs the population size studies) I could see medical experts accepting it under a blind submission basis.

Thats were it gets sticky though.

The panel is accepting the antibody lab tests at face value. These could have been cooked.

@HavfrueDenizKisi - hope you've read the comments to the article you've linked in further up....

The latest target of “Australian outrage”.

@ShmeevilWeevil

I don't particularly like djokovic but he is probably the greatest tennis player of all time. It would seem unfair to deny him the opportunity to compete and prove his GOAT status because he hasn't been vaccinated. Perhaps the tournament should have been moved to a remote island somewhere to avoid this situation.

Plenty of people - including some of my family - had to cancel Christmas holidays in Spain because their teenagers couldn't be double jabbed.

Plenty of peole - including me - would lose our jobs if we didn't have the jab. (Yes, I've had it).

I don't care if he's the bastard child of Ghandi and Mother Theresa. Everyone else has been following the rules. So should he. It is of course his choice whether or not he has the vaccine but - as with me and my family - consequences follow from not having it.

In terms of the junior tennis, there will be lots of teen players who haven't been vaccinated, are they just doing a blanket ban?