Most of the world’s top 20 men’s tennis players in Australia are exempt from the anti-vaccination movement, according to the founder of the organization that facilitates training and exhibition matches for players.
“In the last 6 years a large number of top 20 men have said ‘screw it’ and said, ‘I’m going to have a flu shot’,” Dan Halpern, chief executive of the National Team Tennis Association (NATSA), told the Associated Press on Tuesday.
While he said more than 99 percent of the players in Australia’s top ATP Challenger Tour (nationwide qualifying events for men’s tennis’ top 450 ranking) had been vaccinated, Halpern added that the state government of Victoria had begun a “prohibition” that would forbid unvaccinated players from competing in the Australian Open.
Under a new law, states that have large public events such as the Australian Open can halt unvaccinated athletes in many ways, including the banning of teams during the event, according to Australia’s Herald Sun.
Many notable figures have come to the defense of medical professionals’ warnings about the dangers of — and the benefits of — vaccines, in particular President Trump.
Meanwhile, people who have read the stats on this are realizing they are totally over-hyped @andrewsnelson What about ALL cases of autism — Jedediah Bila (@JedediahBila) October 3, 2017
Most parents who are vaccinating their kids are also saying all the right things to their kids, which is why I don’t believe vaccines cause autism. #sanded — Jedediah Bila (@JedediahBila) October 3, 2017
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By comparison, the anti-vaccination movement, which most notably originated in the U.S., has seen a few high-profile flare-ups on the international scene.