UKAD releases updated statement following WADA advice on Covid-19 vaccines

UKAD has released a statement following the WADA position on Covid-19 vaccines and if athletes will breach the WADA Code by having one.

UKAD initially said in a statement that WADA had confirmed the likelihood of vaccines leading to an Anti-Doping Rule Violation was extremely low but could not yet definitively advise athletes on the anti-doping status of a particular vaccine. UKAD’s new statement by Head of Science and Medicine, Nick Wojek said “UK athletes should feel confident that they will not be in breach of the World Anti-Doping Code if they receive the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.”

The WADA statement said “To be clear, despite the novelty of these vaccines, there is no reason to believe such vaccines would contravene anti-doping rules.” However, the statement does make it clear that each individual vaccine that receives approval will have to receive confirmation from WADA that the specific vaccine will not breach the WADA Code. Therefore, athletes are advised to either receive a vaccine that is confirmed to not breach the WADA Code or not get a specific vaccine until WADA confirms that it will not breach the Code.

Click to read the WADA statement and the UKAD statement.