The 51st running of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race will not require Covid vaccinations for Iditarod mushers, staff or volunteers for the 2023 Iditarod race.
The 2023 Iditarod is scheduled for a ceremonial start on March 4, 2023 in downtown Anchorage, Alaska. The course will run the Southern Route from Anchorage to Nome.
In a release from Iditarod.com, race organizers stated that while the Iditarod continues to recommend Covid vaccinations for our entire community, we (Iditarod) will not be mandating vaccinations for Iditarod mushers, staff or volunteers for the 2023 race.
Iditarod Race Director Mark Nordman stated in the release, “It’s something that we take very seriously and without the people that we’ve had — the state, Dr. Guest, and all these other people — with the input you know I’m here to put on a dog race. That is what our staff is dedicated to do, but when it gets on to this level of something dealing with community health, public health, we need to bring in the big guns.”
Nordman also stated that the ultimate goal is to keep mushers, volunteers, and communities along the Southern Route safe, and we appreciate your understanding and patience as we sort through the appropriate testing and mitigation protocols. We will inform you with updates as we get closer to March 4, 2023, the start of Iditarod Fifty-One.
With regard to testing protocols, the Iditarod committee is evaluating needs in conjunction with medical advisors, Iditarod communities, partners and stakeholders, while concurrently accounting for the projected trajectory of Covid cases in Alaska up until the race start. In 2021 and 2022 considerable time and resources were spent on testing protocols with the help of the State of Alaska, Dr. Jodie Guest, the Capstone Clinic and CUE Health and will continue to include them in future discussions.
Iditarod Race Director Mark Nordman said, “I think there is a few people, of course. It is always a personal choice that didn’t want to get vaccinated last year and I believe we will have them racing again. They haven’t signed up yet but I am hearing that they will now with this decision. It’s not just the mushing community it’s the racers themselves, the volunteers, how we going to deal with downtown in Anchorage, I don’t see a lot of change.”
Mushers have until November 30, 2022 to sign up for the 51st running of the Iditarod. In the first round of signups, 21 mushers submitted entries including Iditarod 2022 champion Brent Sass and four of last year’s top ten competitors.
Audio courtesy of Alaska’s News Source