US Olympic Swimmer Michael Andrew Says He Won’t Get Vaccinated
International | July 11, 2021
With several weeks to go before the start of the Olympic Games in Tokyo, U.S. Olympic swimmer Michael Andrew said he won’t be taking the COVID-19 vaccine.
The 22-year-old will compete in 100-meter breaststroke, 200-meter individual medley, and 50-meter freestyle. He previously won the 100-meter individual medley during the world championships and last month placed first in the 100-meter U.S. Olympic Test Trials.
Andrew told Reuters and other reporters last week he won’t get the vaccine because he doesn’t want to experience any possible vaccine-related reactions.
“My reason behind it is—for one, it was in the last moment I didn’t want to put anything in my body that I didn’t know how I would potentially react to,” Andrew said. “As an athlete on the elite level, everything we do is very calculated. For me in the training cycles and especially at trials, I didn’t want to risk any days out, because there are periods where if you take a vaccine, you have to deal with some days off.”
(Excerpts from the Epoch Times)