Being fully vaccinated is now a requirement for a professional athlete to continue playing in Victoria, Australia.
Athletes have been required to receive their first COVID-19 vaccine dose by October 15 and their second by November 26 in order to train and play.
On Friday, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews confirmed all authorised workers in Melbourne and regional Victoria would need to be vaccinated by those timelines in order to continue working on site.
AFL teams begin their staggered returns in November, while AFLW players are currently in pre-season training.
Multiple AFL and AFLW players have posted on social media about receiving their vaccinations, while the Western Bulldogs recently confirmed their entire AFL squad had received their first vaccine dose.
Melbourne’s A-League Men and A-League Women teams are in pre-season training ahead of their November 19 and December 3 season start dates.
The NRL’s Storm have also heavily encouraged their players to get vaccinated ahead of their pre-season, with players due to return to the club across November and December.
Cricket Victoria is yet to reveal its numbers but Cricket Australia says virtually every single professional player will be fully vaccinated by the end of this month.
Some 98 per cent of domestic cricketers in the country have had their first dose, while 82 per cent are fully vaccinated.
Every nationally-contracted cricketer, male and female, is fully vaccinated.
[Source: TVNZ]
