USOC response letter to members of the U.S. Senate (.pdf)
The Honorable Barbara Boxer
The United States Senate
112 Senate Hart Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
May 23, 2016
Dear Senator Boxer:
I am responding to your letter to our Chairman Larry Probst on the subject of the Zika virus and the Olympic
and Paralympic Games. We very much appreciate your support, and we appreciate having the opportunity to
brief you regarding our preparation and planning.
The health and safety of our athletes, indeed our entire delegation, is our top priority. With that said, the United
States Olympic Committee is a sports organization, and our job is to enable American athletes to win medals
at the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Because we are not an organization with expertise or experience in
dealing with infectious diseases, we first and foremost rely on the tremendous expertise of the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, and other public and private infectious disease experts, to understand and
address the threats that viruses such as Zika pose for our athletes and staff.
We have been in regular contact with the CDC and other experts in infectious disease since the summer of
2015. They have provided sound recommendations based on all available information and we have
communicated the CDCs recommendations via a variety of mediums to all potential Team USA athletes and
support staff likely to travel to Rio before and during the Games. For example, I have enclosed a letter we sent
to our athletes in February.
Additionally, in order to ensure that our athletes and staff continue to have the very best information, and to
assist us in identifying and establishing best practices, in February we formed an Infectious Disease Advisory
Group. The USOC IDAG is chaired by Dr. Carrie L. Byington, MD, from the University of Utah Health Care,
and she is joined by Dr. Randy Taplitz, MD, from the University of California, San Diego, and Capt. Martin S.
Cetron, MD, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The group is helping us to identify and establish on a real-time basis - best practices regarding the
mitigation, assessment and management of infectious disease in general, and regarding the Zika virus
specifically, paying particular attention to how issues may affect athletes and staff participating in the
upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Games.
In addition to establishing best practices for Team USA, the advisory group assists the USOC in developing
informational material for athletes and staff, with education and consistent communication being key to our
efforts as it relates to the Zika virus. The members of the IDAG are also available to answer individual
questions from delegation members, monitor and share updated scientific literature on relevant issues, and
provide insight to support athlete-centric care should an individual become ill.
All three doctors are world-class physicians and experts in the field of infectious disease. Our in-house medical
teams are some of the best in the world at what they do, but having access to, and relying upon, the kind of
outside expertise represented by this advisory group is just another way we can make sure our athletes and
staff have what they need compete at a high level.
In addition to having one-on-one access to the IDAG, athletes and staff have been made aware of the CDCs
guidelines on mosquito-bite prevention and will have air conditioning units in their rooms, will be provided with
OFF! Insect repellent, and will be allocated long-sleeved shirts and pants as part of their casual wear uniforms.
Condoms will also be distributed to athletes and staff for use with sexual partners for up to six months
following their trip to South America, as recommended by the CDC.
Additionally, the relevant authorities in Rio are doing their part to evaluate the Games environment and
mitigate against mosquito breeding by eliminating standing water near Olympic and Paralympic venues and
are conducting fumigation where appropriate.
Finally, we have created a Medical Emergency Response Plan to provide pre-identified medical management
strategies for any illness or injury in Rio. Those plans include preparations to manage serious illnesses in Rio
by identifying private hospitals in addition to those made available by the Rio 2016 Organizing Committee to
ensure maximum medical coverage.
As we finalize our Games preparations we continue to be in regular contact with the CDC, via our IDAG, and
will post relevant updates to TeamUSA.org/RioTravelUpdates.
Again, thank you for your interest in Team USA and please dont hesitate to contact me if we can provide any
further information.
Sincerely,
Scott A. Blackmun
Chief Executive Officer
CC: Sarah Konrad, Chair, Athletes Advisory Council
The Honorable Barbara Boxer
The United States Senate
112 Senate Hart Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
May 23, 2016
Dear Senator Boxer:
I am responding to your letter to our Chairman Larry Probst on the subject of the Zika virus and the Olympic
and Paralympic Games. We very much appreciate your support, and we appreciate having the opportunity to
brief you regarding our preparation and planning.
The health and safety of our athletes, indeed our entire delegation, is our top priority. With that said, the United
States Olympic Committee is a sports organization, and our job is to enable American athletes to win medals
at the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Because we are not an organization with expertise or experience in
dealing with infectious diseases, we first and foremost rely on the tremendous expertise of the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, and other public and private infectious disease experts, to understand and
address the threats that viruses such as Zika pose for our athletes and staff.
We have been in regular contact with the CDC and other experts in infectious disease since the summer of
2015. They have provided sound recommendations based on all available information and we have
communicated the CDCs recommendations via a variety of mediums to all potential Team USA athletes and
support staff likely to travel to Rio before and during the Games. For example, I have enclosed a letter we sent
to our athletes in February.
Additionally, in order to ensure that our athletes and staff continue to have the very best information, and to
assist us in identifying and establishing best practices, in February we formed an Infectious Disease Advisory
Group. The USOC IDAG is chaired by Dr. Carrie L. Byington, MD, from the University of Utah Health Care,
and she is joined by Dr. Randy Taplitz, MD, from the University of California, San Diego, and Capt. Martin S.
Cetron, MD, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The group is helping us to identify and establish on a real-time basis - best practices regarding the
mitigation, assessment and management of infectious disease in general, and regarding the Zika virus
specifically, paying particular attention to how issues may affect athletes and staff participating in the
upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Games.
In addition to establishing best practices for Team USA, the advisory group assists the USOC in developing
informational material for athletes and staff, with education and consistent communication being key to our
efforts as it relates to the Zika virus. The members of the IDAG are also available to answer individual
questions from delegation members, monitor and share updated scientific literature on relevant issues, and
provide insight to support athlete-centric care should an individual become ill.
All three doctors are world-class physicians and experts in the field of infectious disease. Our in-house medical
teams are some of the best in the world at what they do, but having access to, and relying upon, the kind of
outside expertise represented by this advisory group is just another way we can make sure our athletes and
staff have what they need compete at a high level.
In addition to having one-on-one access to the IDAG, athletes and staff have been made aware of the CDCs
guidelines on mosquito-bite prevention and will have air conditioning units in their rooms, will be provided with
OFF! Insect repellent, and will be allocated long-sleeved shirts and pants as part of their casual wear uniforms.
Condoms will also be distributed to athletes and staff for use with sexual partners for up to six months
following their trip to South America, as recommended by the CDC.
Additionally, the relevant authorities in Rio are doing their part to evaluate the Games environment and
mitigate against mosquito breeding by eliminating standing water near Olympic and Paralympic venues and
are conducting fumigation where appropriate.
Finally, we have created a Medical Emergency Response Plan to provide pre-identified medical management
strategies for any illness or injury in Rio. Those plans include preparations to manage serious illnesses in Rio
by identifying private hospitals in addition to those made available by the Rio 2016 Organizing Committee to
ensure maximum medical coverage.
As we finalize our Games preparations we continue to be in regular contact with the CDC, via our IDAG, and
will post relevant updates to TeamUSA.org/RioTravelUpdates.
Again, thank you for your interest in Team USA and please dont hesitate to contact me if we can provide any
further information.
Sincerely,
Scott A. Blackmun
Chief Executive Officer
CC: Sarah Konrad, Chair, Athletes Advisory Council
- Letter from members of the U.S. Senate (.pdf)
- USOC response letter to members of the U.S. Senate (.pdf)