Tag: vaccination

65% of NFL players have had at least 1 COVID-19 shot

According to the latest data, 65% of all NFL players have had at least 1 COVID-19 shot, exceeding the numbers nationally in their age groups.

The players in the National Football League are exceeding the national average in their age groups when it comes to COVID-19 vaccinations.

“65% of NFL players have had at least one shot, per NFL medical officer Allen Sills,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweeted Friday morning. “That’s approximately the same percent as rest of the country. But for Americans ages 18-24, it’s around 48%. Ages 25-39 is around 50%. So players are over indexing compared to people their age.”

The Seahawks players are doing even better than their counterparts across the league, with the hopes of having the bulk of the roster completely vaccinated by the start of training camp at the end of July.

“There’s a chance,” Pete Carroll told reporters last week. “We’ve got a shot at it because we’re far enough along. We have a little vaccination event going on right now after this practice, so we’ll see how those numbers show. But we’re not in bad shape, we’re within striking distance of making it. I think the bulk of the team will be done…

“We’re going to be hovering around 70% here soon, maybe by the end of the week, and we’ll see where that takes us from there.”

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Report: Colts among teams with low vaccination rates

Colts are reportedly among the teams with low vaccination rates.

As the 2021 season approaches and the league looks to put COVID-19 in the rearview mirror, they are urging players and staff to get vaccinated in order to get back to some semblance of normal.

However, a report from the Washington Post revealed that the Indianapolis Colts are among the teams with the fewest vaccinations.

“The teams not doing as well with their player-vaccination rates include the Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, Arizona Cardinals and Los Angeles Chargers, according to that person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the league and NFLPA have not released player-vaccination rates.”

Typically, vaccinations wouldn’t be newsworthy. But because COVID-19 can keep a player from getting on the field, it will be a storyline to watch for the Colts throughout the preseason and regular season.

The league hasn’t made the vaccinations mandatory but with their release of the protocols for the vaccinated and unvaccinated players, there will be much incentive to go with the former option.

From Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire on the difference in protocol between vaccinated and unvaccinated players:

“The difference is pretty stark. Players who are not fully vaccinated have to be tested for COVID every day. They must wear masks at all times at team facilities and during team travel. They must remain physically distant from others in team facilities. They must quarantine after any high-risk exposure to COVID. They will undergo travel restrictions. They must be limited regarding personnel in the weight room. They can’t eat with their teammates in the cafeteria. There are no social media/marketing/sponsorship activities permitted. They may not use the team sauna or steam room. They can’t leave team hotels to eat in restaurants, and they can’t interact with anyone outside of the team’s traveling party during team travel.

Vaccinated players have no such restrictions.”

It will be interesting to see if the Colts wind up getting a higher vaccination rate after the players see the difference in protocol. The league hasn’t mandated it so, of course, they are free to make their own decision.

But that doesn’t mean they are free from the consequences should something happen mid-season.

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Walk-ins now welcome at Seahawks Lumen Field COVID-19 vaccination site

The vaccination site at Lumen Field – home of the Seattle Seahawks and Sounders FC – is no longer requiring appoints for the COVID-19 shot.

Seattle Seahawks fans are now one step close to getting vaccinated ahead of the start of the 2021 regular season. Lumen Field, home of the Seahawks and Sounders FC, is now accepting walk-up patients at its COVID-19 vaccination center.

The only requirements are that you either live or work in King County and are 16 years or older for the Pfizer shot or 18 and over for the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson shots. Appointments are no longer necessary to receive a vaccine but are recommended to ensure availability.

The Lumen Field vaccination site is located at the Lumen Field Event Center at 330 S Royal Brougham Way, Seattle, WA 98134. The location is open Thursday and Saturday this week from 11:15 a.m. to 5:45 p.m PT and on Wednesday and Saturday of next week.

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Report: Vaccinated PGA Tour players won’t be required to take COVID-19 test at events

According to a Golf Digest report, the PGA Tour will not mandate vaccinated players to COVID-19 test before a Tour event.

As the COVID-19 vaccine becomes available to more people, it will change the way the PGA Tour goes about testing its players before events. According to a Golf Digest report, the Tour sent an email to players this week indicating that those who are fully vaccinated will not have to take a COVID-19 test before entering an event.

According to that email, which Golf Digest reportedly obtained: “PGA Tour Health and Safety protocol requires individuals to continue testing onsite until 14 full days have passed since their second dose (Moderna & Pfizer) or 14 full days since their single dose (Johnson & Johnson). Once 14 days have passed, individuals are no longer required to take a COVID-19 test when considered ‘inside the bubble’ at PGA Tour, PGA Tour Champions or Korn Ferry Tour events.”

Back in December at the PNC Father Son Championship, when asked to address the introduction of a vaccine and how that could impact the Tour’s plan, Monahan expressed enthusiasm that it could help the Tour, but took a cautious stance that it was premature to jump to any conclusions. He said the Tour would “be very thoughtful about it.”

When asked if in his role as Commissioner he would use his power to mandate a player to take a vaccine, Monahan said he would not.

“I think vaccination is a choice,” he said. “I think we would apply the same logic and the same amount of care to that subject as we have to every other subject, and that is to try and do our best to educate our members on vaccination and the pros and cons associated with it. But ultimately it’s an individual decision.”

Since the Tour’s June 2020 restart, players have been required to return a negative COVID-19 test before being allowed in that week’s bubble. The more than 20 players who tested positive for Tour events had to withdraw from the tournament and complete a quarantine period. They also received a stipend from the Tour.

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Angler lands near-record crappie hours after COVID-19 vaccination

A Pennsylvania angler caught a near-record crappie Friday just hours after receiving his first COVID-19 vaccination shot.

A Pennsylvania angler caught a near-record crappie Friday just hours after receiving his first COVID-19 vaccination shot.

So for Dan Wielobob, it was a wonderful day in at least two respects.

The monstrous white crappie, caught through the ice at Lake Wilhelm, measured 20 inches and weighed 4.02 pounds, falling less than 3 ounces shy of the state record.

Wielobob told Darl Black of the Erie Times-News that the fish was so large as it swam past the hole that he thought he had hooked a walleye.

Then, when the fish began to swim upward with its mouth open, Wielobob thought it was a largemouth bass, so he “lipped it,” using his thumb and forefinger, and flopped it onto the ice.

“Not something I would have done if it were a walleye,” he told Black.

RELATED: Angler hauls 4-foot tiger muskie through 8-inch hole in ice

Wielobob said the crappie was the largest he has caught in more than 60 years of fishing.

For the sake of comparison, the all-tackle world record stands at 5 pounds, 3 ounces. That mark, set in Mississippi, was established in 1957 and might never be broken.

Wielobob caught the giant crappie – and 19 smaller crappies – using two-pound-test line and a small tungsten jig.

Earlier on Friday, he and his wife had driven to a clinic in Cortland, Ohio, to receive their first vaccination shots.

–Images courtesy of Darl Black / Erie Times News