NFL needs a boost, as in more shots
The Chargers got back Keenan Allen, their receptions leader, from the COVID-19 list going into tonight’s AFC West showdown versus the Chiefs. In Green Bay, it appears three injured starters may rejoin the NFC North-leading Packers before the Super Bowl tournament begins next month.
Beyond NFL playoff contenders, you know who else could use a health boost as soon as possible?
The NFL itself.
Boost, in this case, may lead to booster shots.
Positive COVID-19 tests for NFL players have surged this week. More than 100 players have tested positive since Monday, per multiple reports. About twothirds of them are asymptomatic, NFL Chief Medical Officer Dr. Allen Sills told reporters Wednesday night.
For the first time this season, said Sills, the league is seeing transmission of the virus within teams’ facilities.
“This is urgent for us, just as it always has been,” Sills said.
In response, the NFL is considering ways to ramp up booster shots among its vaccinated players.
“We think it’s our best protection against this new variant” known as Omicron, said Sills, who reported a 94.1 percent vaccination rate among players Oct. 26.
The NFL Players’ Association would have to approve any changes to the current COVID-19 protocols.
In response to findings of waning immunity among vaccinated NFL personnel, the league has mandated COVID-19 booster shots by Dec. 27 for coaches and other staff members but not players.
A booster mandate for players, per the Washington Post, could be linked to an important second measure: exempting the weekly testing that vaccinated players undergo every Monday.
Citing its versatility, a “boostno test” proposal might soon gain traction, said former longtime San Diego Chargers team physician Dr. David Chao.
“The NFL could cut the positives significantly,” he said, resulting in many more players quickly becoming eligible to practice and play.
Chao took into account public relations challenges caused by the recent surge in positive tests, while explaining why another “vaccine carrot” could be entered into talks with the NFL union.
“The problem is the NFL did not think they would get there,” he said of the recent spike in positive tests. “So, now they need to quietly do something that’s not perceived as irresponsible or back tracking. ‘Hey, get the booster, we’ll stop testing you.’ That could pass the smell test (with the union). Players may say, ‘Well, shoot, let me just put this behind me and concentrate on the rest of the year and the playoffs. Give me the booster. I’ve already had the first two.’ ”
In addition to getting asymptomatic players back on the field sooner, the NFL could argue a booster mandate ramps up the league’s fight against COVID-19.
“The NFL can say if we only did this because of the science, because we made (players) get the boosters. It passes the smell test,” said Chao. “If they just waved their hand and said, ‘Asymptomatic players can play,’
people would go nuts. But if they go this route, I think it goes (forward).”
The surge in positive tests for COVID-19 is posing acute challenges for a handful of teams, including both of tonight’s competitors. The Chargers will be without standout left tackle Rashawn Slater while the Chiefs might be missing three defensive starters, two due to COVID.
No club, though, has been hit harder than the Cleveland Browns, who have 18 players — 11 of them starters or regulars — and two coaches on the COVID-19 list. The Browns are among five 7-6 teams tied for the second and third wild-card spots. They play Saturday against the Las Vegas Raiders, who trail them by one game at 6-7.
Another playoff contender, the Washington Football Team, has placed 14 players on the COVID list this week. Washington, one of five 6-7 teams tied for the final playoff spot in the NFC, plays Sunday against Philadelphia, which is also 6-7.