COVID-19 vaccine available for all teams, officials of WBSC Baseball Americas Qualifier

COVID-19 vaccine available for all teams, officials of WBSC Baseball Americas Qualifier
18/05/2021
The Olympic baseball qualifier to the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Games is set to open in less than two weeks, in St. Lucie County and Palm Beach County, with eight of baseball’s top-ranked nations.

The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), in conjunction with the Local Organising Committee and relevant local health authorities, today announced that all teams and officials participating in the WBSC Baseball Americas Qualifier in Florida will have the option to receive a single-application Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine.

The Olympic baseball qualifier to the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Games is set to open in less than two weeks, in St. Lucie County and Palm Beach County, with eight of baseball’s top-ranked nations.

“WBSC’s and the LOC’s top priority is, and always has been, the health and security of the athletes and officials involved in our events,” said WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari. “Thanks to a collaboration with the LOC and local health officials in Florida, we are able to take this important step that will help ensure a safe and successful international tournament on the road to a ‘safety first’ Olympic Games in Japan.”

The vaccines will be available upon the teams’ and officials’ arrivals in Florida. Vaccinations will be on a voluntary basis and not mandatory to participate in the qualifier.

Eight teams will compete in Florida for a spot in this summer’s Tokyo 2020 Olympics:

  • Group A: World No. 2 USA, No. 10 Dominican Republic, No. 11 Puerto Rico and No. 15 Nicaragua.
  • Group B: World No. 7 Cuba, No. 8 Venezuela, No. 13 Canada and No. 14 Colombia.

The winner of the WBSC Baseball Americas Qualifier will become the fifth national baseball team to advance to six-team Tokyo 2020 tournament, joining world No. 1 Japan, No. 3 Korea, No. 5 Mexico and No. 18 Israel. The runner-up and the third-place team in the Americas Olympic qualifier will earn spots in the WBSC Baseball Final Qualifier.