The Serbian Variant…from Russia
The boundaries of the story that keeps the tennis champion stuck in limbo between the plane that brings him home and the doors of the Australian Open are outlined.
According to the revelations of some Russian tennis players not admitted to the tournament because vaccinated with Sputnik, the Russian vaccine not approved in Europe and Australia, their hitch would also represent the basis of the story of the tennis player who in the past has declared himself skeptical towards vaccination, but who in recent times has entrenched himself in silence and ambiguity regarding his vaccination status.
After the great fear of Covid contracted at the beginning of the summer, with the recent explosion of the new variant, the Novax Djokovid would in fact have been vaccinated in the last weeks with Sputnik V. This would have guaranteed him, on the one hand, protection against further infection, on the other hand, to remain off the western radar in order to maintain its status as the sporting symbol of NoVaxs.
Not only. However, having administered a vaccine, in line with the indications of the Western health authorities, he could not have taken another one, for example those approved in Europe and Australia (Pfizer, Astrazeneca, Modena, Janssen) anyway. It would therefore be precisely this paradox at the origin of the exemption of the Serbian, who in any case would not have felt obliged to provide such explanations to the Australian border authorities who asked him to account for it, thus giving rise to a tug-of-war that will be resolved with a decision of the judges. And it is in fact on this that the federal court will have to express next week: a foreign citizen who enters Australia with an exemption regularly issued by foreign health authorities, yet recognized in the country, has the right not to provide details on the medical reasons (confidential information) at the basis of the exemption itself?
It is clear that if the sportsman had accepted or agreed to provide the truth that is now leaking, (apart from other small bureaucratic knots related to an error in the request for his visa, whose category would not admit any medical exemption), the gates of the country and the Australian tournament would open; at the cost, however, of having those of the NoVax people closed.
Meanwhile, Russian colleagues vaccinated Sputnik, not having the same dilemma as the Serbian, are now requesting his same exemption to be admitted to the tournament (vaccinated-russian-players-want-same-exemption-as-the serbian champion).
