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  • Racing Victoria Makes Vaccination Mandatory

    Thursday, 16th September 2021

    Horse racing in Victoria will become one of the first sports in the world to make COVID vaccinations mandatory for all participants, reports racing.com. Every participant – trainers, jockeys, stable staff, race day officials, etc – must have one dose by October 16 to be allowed on a Victorian racecourse, and two doses by November 27. “The only way out of the current COVID pandemic is to increase vaccination rates within the community to allow greater freedoms,” said Racing Victoria CEO Giles Thompson. “Unlike other sports, racing operates on a year-round daily basis with a highly mobile workforce, so it is therefore imperative that we do our utmost to protect the health and safety of our workforce and of the industry, which has been able to safely continue over the past 18 months courtesy of strict biosecurity protocols.” Giles noted, “The advice from our Chief Medical Office and our risk assessment has determined that mandatory COVID vaccination is the right decision for the health and safety of our staff, participants and industry in these extraordinary times, and that’s a majority view that has come from our participants also when surveyed. Our participants want to protect themselves, their families and their livelihoods as social restrictions ease in the future and we see greater movement across the state and mandatory vaccination as a condition of entry is our way to do that.” Giles is aware of vaccine logistical issues and advised, “I want to let our participants and staff know that whilst we have set important deadlines for compliance, we will continue to monitor vaccine supply in the weeks ahead and retain some flexibility if issues arise, particularly for the younger members of our workforce.” Currently 67% of surveyed Victorian participants have had at least one dose of the COVID vaccine.