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​USOC response letter to members of the U.S. Senate on the subject of the Zika virus and the Olympic and Paralympic Games

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  • ​USOC response letter to members of the U.S. Senate on the subject of the Zika virus and the Olympic and Paralympic Games

    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 CDC’s 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 CDC’s
    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 don’t 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

    "Safety and security don't just happen, they are the result of collective consensus and public investment. We owe our children, the most vulnerable citizens in our society, a life free of violence and fear."
    -Nelson Mandela
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