Callum Robinson, West Brom forward, doesn't want to get vaccinated
The issue of coronavirus vaccinations for football players is being discussed by politicians, Premier League managers, and governing bodies.
Callum Robinson, West Brom forward and Republic of Ireland forward, said Tuesday that he wouldn't be vaccinated even though he had received Covid-19 twice.
Why might some players be hesitant to get vaccinated when less than half the players in most Premier League and English Football League clubs have been vaccinated?
BBC Sport investigates the matter.
Red-list countries, role models and rewards
Football officials want their players to have two vaccinations. The Premier League is considering rewarding high-coronavirus vaccination rates by giving rewards to clubs that are double-vaccinated.
Only seven clubs were fully vaccinated as of two weeks ago.
Wolves is one of them. He confirmed to BBC Sport, that 100% of their first-team players and staff were fully vaccinated since July.
Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool's boss, stated last week that "99%" of his players were vaccinated. He also said that he didn't understand some players' hesitancy.
The BBC has learned that 49% of English Football League players have been fully vaccinated as of September. This is an increase from 18% in the previous month.
A majority of professional footballers are between 18-36 years of age and 60% have had their first vaccination.
Other Premier League managers have called their players to immunize themselves, such as Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta and Nuno Espirito Sato, Steve Bruce, Graham Potter, Graham Potter, and Nuno Espirito Santato.
Guardiola, Manchester City boss, said that vaccinating is the best way to eliminate or move on from the pandemic situation after two years. Guardiola's mother, who died in April 2020, contracted coronavirus.
Karl Darlow, Newcastle goalkeeper, was admitted to the hospital with Covid-19
To provide further motivation, Premier League players will not be allowed to travel to the UK-designated red-list nations (e.g. Brazil) to represent their country in this month's World Cup qualifiers.
BBC Sport, contrary to media reports, understands that Fifa doesn't want any player prevented from participating in the Qatar 2022 World Cup due to their vaccination status. They are looking at other options, such as proof of recovery from Covid-19, or negative tests.
Sajid Javid, Health Secretary, said that it was "disappointing" after he received reports that several England squad members refused to be vaccinated via an external link.
They are role models for society. Javid stated that people, particularly young people, will look up to them. They should also recognize the positive impact that it can have on encouraging others.
Karl Darlow, Newcastle goalkeeper, has called for fellow footballers to get the vaccine after being hospitalized with Covid-19 last July.
Darlow, who had just recently returned to full fitness following "awful fatigue" after losing five kilograms of weight, spoke to BBC Sport in September. He said that his experience had convinced "a few" of his teammates to get immunized.
He said that "four to five" other Newcastle players were not vaccinated "for hope genuine reasons".
However, vaccination is still the player's choice. So what are those reasons?
WhatsApp groups, misinformation, complacency, and complacency
Nearly 49 million people in the UK have had their first dose of Covid-19 vaccine. A total of 45 million have received their second. This is an increase of 89.8%, and 82.5% respectively for over-16s. External-link
Some people opt not to get vaccinated because they are unsure about the vaccine or have concerns about side effects.
Some people, but not all, opt out of vaccination due to misinformation and conspiracy theories they have read online, especially on social media.
This has also affected the footballer's uptake.
The Times reported in September that players were sharing misinformation via WhatsApp groups. Maheta Molango, chief executive of PFA, external-link, urged them not to "believe all the lies and myths" online.
All players received guidance from Professor Jonathan van Tam (deputy chief medical officer), which included a myth-busting external-link video. Van Tam was also briefed with Premier League captains.
Professor Jonathan van Tam vaccinated Boston United football players
Rochdale's club doctor Wesley Tensel echoed these sentiments, telling BBC 5 Live Breakfast that League One vaccination rates were "very low".
He said that he believes one reason is social media. "It's the anti-vax stuff being bandied about, and it does get spread around the changing rooms."
"Football changing areas are different from most workplaces. It's an echo chamber. If one of the senior players sees something on social media, and it's passed to someone else, they won't necessarily be able to critically evaluate where it came from. They could end up falling down a rabbit hole.
Tensel is also a GP, and the clinic lead at a local vaccine centre. He said that he sends messages to players when there's a clinic open, but it has now reached the point where no one replies.
Robinson, West Brom forward, says that he has made the decision to not get vaccinated.
He said, "It's clearly annoying that I've caught the virus twice, but I haven’t been vaccinated." "Further along the line, I could change my mind about it and want to do so."
Stephen Kenny, his Republic of Ireland manager, said that there are many myths surrounding virility and other issues. He also stated that he believes it to be complex. Although I'm not a medical expert, I trust the experts and believe it is better to get double-vaccinated.
Stuart Dallas, a midfielder for Leeds United and Northern Ireland, is double-vaccinated. He said that nobody can be forced to do anything, but that he wanted to "get back to normality as quickly as possible".
Complacency could also be a reason why players are leaving Premier League footballers. The infection rates this season in Premier League footballers are very low.
The latest round of lateral flow testing revealed four new positive cases last week among 2,927 top-flight players and staff.
Since the week beginning 23 August, this figure has been in single figures each week. Why is vaccine so important if there are so few people who contract coronavirus?
Tensel stated, "These players are clearly young and fit so I can understand why it may not be necessary to vaccinate them."
"I spoke to senior players to find out their thoughts on why the uptake is so low. Some of their responses were that they don't want the jab to make them feel sick, which could affect their performance.
"But on the other side, if they were going to get Covid (which quite a few of our player have had over the past year), they've been out for ten days and felt really sick so I don't think this argument really holds up.
What is next?
What can football do to change this?
These numbers are steadily improving. While just under half of EFL players have been fully vaccinated, 75% of them have received one, two or all three doses. This is an increase of 70% from August.
According to the EFL, it is working closely with the NHS to offer mobile vaccine clinics to clubs. BBC Sport, however, understands that clubs continue to talk to their players in order to encourage them to get the vaccine.
In an effort to increase vaccine use, the government continues to work closely alongside clubs.
Kenny, Republic of Ireland boss, thinks it would not be radical if overseas players weren't selected based on their vaccination status.
Perhaps football should look at other sports and their approaches?
After achieving an external-link vaccination target of 85%, Saracens in rugby union have made social distancing and face masks optional.
The NBA in the USA has a stricter approach to protocol testing. This means that unvaccinated basketball players are being kept away from those who have been vaccinated.
They are also prohibited from "higher risk settings", such as restaurants and other entertainment venues.
Andrew Wiggins, a Golden State Warriors forward, had his request to have the Covid-19 vaccine exempted from religious considerations denied by the NBA. The NBA said that Wiggins could not participate in home games until he meets San Francisco's requirements for attending large indoor events. This includes elite athletes. He decided to get the vaccine.
