Vax available Thursday

said he wanted to encourage “not only our players, but everyone, to be vaccinated.” The 73-year-old disclosed that he received the vaccine already.

In the days leading up to the PowerPoint presentation, several Mets players phrased receiving the vaccine as a “personal choice” or “decision.” McNeil echoed his teammates on Tuesday and said even after watching the HSS video and chatting with a vaccine expert, he was still not sure whether he would sign up for the Pfizer shot on Thursday.

“It’s a personal decision,” McNeil said. “I’m still looking at all the facts. The meeting today was pretty helpful and comforting. I know a lot of the guys are going to get vaccinated on Thursday so I may be one of those. We just gotta look at all the information and do what’s best.”

McNeil, though, seemed to understand the seriousness of the situation – after nearly three million people died from COVID-19 worldwide, with over 550,000 deaths in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is encouraging individuals to receive the COVID-19 vaccine because it is “an important tool to help stop the pandemic.” The CDC recommends all individuals should receive the vaccine as soon as it is available to them.

“It’s an extremely important topic and it’s important for people to get vaccinated out there,” McNeil said. “So hopefully we can get some guys to get vaccinated and help everyone out.”