The NFL is continuing to modify its protocols in an effort to combat the COVID-19 outbreaks that have threatened to derail the final few weeks of the regular season. On Thursday, the league issued a statement advising that it was requiring masking regardless of vaccination status; mandating remote or outdoor meetings; eliminating in-person meals; and prohibiting outside visitors while on team travel.
However, per PFT, those additional protections will be removed after this weekend’s slate of games (Twitter link). Going forward, only teams with outbreaks will need to abide by those requirements.
That decision jibes with another modification, which is that fully vaccinated, asymptomatic players and staff will no longer be subject to weekly testing (Twitter link via Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network). As Dr. Allen Sills noted, the healthcare industry is not routinely testing medical providers, and is instead testing in a more “targeted” fashion (Twitter link via Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network).
Targeted testing for the NFL means that vaccinated individuals will be tested only if they are symptomatic. Unvaccinated individuals, meanwhile, will still be tested daily.
Even the Thursday statement that set forth what turned out to be temporarily enhanced protocols provided that a vaccinated and asymptomatic player will be eligible to return as soon as the day after one positive test (instead of having to test negative on back-to-back days). So the league has apparently decided that, at least during this period of rampant outbreaks, it doesn’t make sense to spend time and resources on players who have been vaccinated and who are not exhibiting any symptoms.
Interestingly, Pelissero reports (via Twitter) that a majority of players want to do away with COVID-19 protocols entirely. In other words, they want to eliminate all testing, all quarantine requirements, and operate just as they did in 2019. While one can certainly understand those sentiments, Pelissero says that union leadership does not feel that way and actually is still pushing for daily testing.
It is also worth noting, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes, that players will not be required to get a booster shot in order to maintain “fully vaccinated” status. However, all other Tier 1 personnel — coaches, trainers, etc. — are required to get a booster by December 27. The same goes for Tier 2 personnel (GMs, football operations staffers, etc.).
