Dec 15, 2021.
Positive test results from players who are not injured have driven most of the NFL's COVID-19 surge this week, an important data point as the league and NFL Players Association discuss ways to slow the spread through multiple teams.
More than 100 players have tested positive. The NFL's chief medical officer told reporters at the conclusion of a previously scheduled owners meeting that about two-thirds of them are not serious. The rest have symptoms that are so mild that they might not have sought a test.
The omicron variant has been detected in test results for multiple teams, and that's why part of this week's surge was attributed to it. According to a recent study, the immunity of players who have been vaccined has waned.
A lot of people in the NFL have low levels of antibodies even though they are fully vaccine free.
The COVID-19 booster shots for all Tier 1 and Tier 2 employees are due by the end of the year. The league is ramping up efforts to encourage shots in the coming days and weeks, despite the fact that players are not required to be vaccinations.
Vaccination players are tested once per week while unvaccinated players are tested daily. The NFL has refused to test all players daily since the start of training camp. At the time, he said that there had been no evidence of spread within the team facilities, and that positive tests were coming from the community.
In other areas of public health, daily testing has proved to be useless. There were a number of times last season when the league found evidence of a player spreading the virus even before he tested positive.
The sides are talking about other options. There is an adjustment for the return of players who test positive. Current protocols allow them to return after two negative tests, but it's possible that the sides could agree to allow them back sooner if they remain free of symptoms.
The National Football League can make some changes on its own, such as placing teams in enhanced protocols that require daily testing, mask wearing and virtual meetings. As of Wednesday evening, five teams were under those measures.
"We're doing what we've always done," he said. We're looking at the effectiveness of our strategies and measuring them against our outcomes.
Roger Goodell told reporters there was no consideration given to postponing any games this week despite the surge of positive tests.
