Medical panel to review any AO covid exemptions

An independent medical expert panel will decide on any player covid exemptions for the Australian Open next month.

Tennis Australia announced today it had finalised all it protocols with the Victorian Department of Health, with an expert panel of doctors from the fields of immunology, infectious disease and general practice to review all applications.

Applications that meet the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation national guidelines will then be subject to a second review.

A government-appointed panel of medical experts, the Independent Medical Exemption Review Panel, will then oversee this review.

Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley said the multi-step review process was designed to ensure the safety of everyone at the event.

Players, staff and fans will need to be fully vaccinated unless there is a genuine reason for an exemption.

“We’ve worked closely with the Victorian Government to establish fair and independent protocols for assessing medical exemption applications that will enable us to ensure Australian Open 2022 is safe and enjoyable for everybody,” Tiley said.

“Central to this process is that the decisions will be made by independent medical experts and that every applicant gets due consideration.”