NFL’S vaccine rate at 93%, mandatory shots discussed

The NFL says 93% of players are vaccinated for COVID-19 and the league wanted mandatory vaccination but the NFLPA wouldn’t agreed to it.

The league also has asked the players’ union to adjust protocols so vaccinated players would be tested weekly instead of every 14 days. Unvaccinated players are tested daily.

NFLPA president JC Tretter, a center for the Cleveland Browns, said earlier this week the decision not to make vaccination mandatory was done by the league. But league officials disputed that assertion.

“We’ve been discussing mandatory vaccination from the start,” NFL deputy general counsel Larry Ferazani said Thursday. “In fact, we took the lead and required staff and coaches to be vaccinated in order to have access to a player. Beginning at that point, we began banging the drum for what (the NFLPA’S) experts also concede is the single greatest way that we can protect the players and the staff, which is to get to a 100 percent vaccination level. That was our request from that, and we would still love to see that mandate go into effect tomorrow.”

NFL officials also do not have a vaccine mandate.

The league reported 68 positives cases out of 7,190 tested individuals between Aug. 1-21. The 0.95% incidence rate is lower than in most communities.

NBA issues new mandates: All NBA team personnel who will be near players and referees must be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus this season, the league told its clubs in a memo on Friday.

It essentially covers anyone who will travel with teams, be around the bench areas, have access to home, visiting and referee locker rooms and those working at the scorer’s table. The league also said in the memo, a copy of which was obtained by Associated Press, that the policy may be updated when federal agencies release “expected guidance related to booster shots.”

Team personnel will need to be fully vaccinated by Oct. 1; game-day personnel by the time of a team’s first home preseason game, which means early October.

Among the groups of personnel required to have vaccinations: coaches, medical and performance staff, equipment staff, front office members, team and arena security, media relations, social media producers, facility operations workers and more.