Penguins vaccinated against COVID-19

On Monday, the Penguins partnered with UPMC to vaccinate more than a thousand local residents against COVID-19.

The Penguins also offered the shot to players and coaches during the event at PPG Paints Arena. According to a team spokesperson, the vast majority of the players, coaches and members of the traveling party elected to receive the vaccine.

“We were once again proud to team up with our partners at UPMC,” the Penguins said in a statement. “Hopefully we all can continue to come together to do what we can to end this pandemic.”

Beginning this week, Gov. Tom Wolf and the COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force announced all Pennsylvania adults will be eligible to schedule an appointment for the COVID-19 vaccine.

Monday was an opportune window for the Penguins to receive their shots, as it comes at the beginning of the first and only three-day break of the season. It was also an off day for players. Last week, the Pirates likewise vaccinated their players, coaches and traveling party.

Throughout the pandemic, the Penguins have been supporters of “PA Unites Against Covid” by promoting vaccinations and safety measures with messaging at PPG Paints Arena, on the video board, and during TV and radio broadcasts. Monday’s event was the third such mass vaccination effort at a team facility.

They’ve also been holding events at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex.

The club has been strictly adhering to protocols established by the NHL and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. To this point, all of the players and coaches placed on the COVID-19 protocol list during the season were removed quickly after — an indication that false positive tests or high-risk close contacts were the reasons for the absences.

Now, as the Penguins gear up for a possible playoff run, the vaccine gives the club an added level of protection and peace of mind.

According to a recent study published by the CDC, the two-dose Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are proving to be “highly effective in real-world conditions.” This is consistent with clinical trial data in which a two-dose regimen prevented 90% of infections by two weeks after the second shot. One dose prevented 80% of infections by two weeks after vaccination.

Citing medical privacy guidelines, the club declined to disclose which of the three major vaccines the players received.

The opportunity to vaccinate the team comes at a time in which the NHL is just beginning to emerge from its largest COVID-19 outbreak to date. The Vancouver Canucks had 22 players and four staff members test positive for a variant of the virus and eight games postponed. The Canucks finally returned to practice Monday following an 11-day pause with just 10 players on the ice and 18 on the NHL’s COVID protocol list.

Several players around the league — including New Jersey goalie Mackenzie Blackwood and New York Rangers forward Mika Zibanejad — struggled for weeks to get back up to speed following their bouts with COVID-19.

Obviously, many others have much bigger concerns than playing well in hockey games. The virus has been connected to more than 31 million cases in the U.S. and more than 559,000 deaths as of this week. While people who are older and who deal with preexisting conditions are at highest risk of an adverse outcome, COVID-19 also has led to serious illness and even death in younger and middleaged adults who are otherwise healthy.

The Penguins hope that by vaccinating players and coaches, they can encourage others in the area to follow their lead.