Vaccinated NFL players currently receive several benefits that do not apply to unvaccinated individuals. One such benefit is that they are only tested for COVID-19 every two weeks, compared to daily testing for unvaccinated players. However, that could change if the NFL gets its way.
On a conference call Thursday, the NFL’s general counsel said that they have proposed weekly testing of vaccinated players to the players’ union.
NFL general counsel Larry Ferazani says the league has proposed to the union testing fully vaccinated individuals once a week – rather than once every two weeks – in response to recent data. The union has been pushing for daily testing for everyone.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) August 26, 2021
The increase in testing would be in relation to the increase in positive tests from the Delta variant of COVID-19.
Here is the data for positive COVID-19 cases among NFL personnel from August 1-21.
Of those positive tests, Sills says there is a seven times higher incidence rate among unvaccinated players — 2.2% in unvaccinated, 0.3% in vaccinated.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) August 26, 2021
The Tennessee Titans have nine members of their franchise in COVID-19 protocol (not all for positive tests). Seven of them are players and two are coaches. The “cluster” of positive COVID tests has prompted some concerns around the league about their policies entering the season.
