As NFL training camps approached, a common question for players has been their immunization status. Despite overwhelming resources and motivation to prevent disease, players are still avoiding getting vaccinated at an alarming rate.
Two players on Wednesday, Panthers quarterback Sam Darnold and Washington defensive end Montez Sweat, both positioned themselves as anti-vaccination through inaction or outward disagreement with the process. Darnold, largely without commitment on receiving the Covid-19 vaccine, said he was “still assessing the situation”. Meanwhile, Sweat said he “wasn’t a fan” of the vaccine – even after Washington brought in an infectious disease expert to speak to the players.
“I haven’t caught Covid yet,” Sweat said, “so I don’t see myself dealing with Covid until I actually get COVID.”
Both players used a similar refrain: They needed to know more. At this point, it’s a laughable justification for not getting the Covid-19 vaccine which is framed more in conspiracy theory and ignorance than science. Scientists and public health experts around the world have said the vaccine suite is safe. Clinical trials before the vaccines were released have shown their effectiveness. We now have six months in the largest sample of a newly released vaccine in human history, with a number of side effects so minimal in comparison that they fall within the range of statistical insignificance.
At this point, saying “I need to know more” is not the mark of a clever and scrupulous approach, but of an ignorant approach. The only real unknown at this point is how much damage will be done to society by people not getting vaccinated out of fear or a mistaken belief that they are taking some sort of political stance by refusing to protect themselves and people. other. It has been established that it is highly unlikely that Covid-19 will be completely eliminated by vaccination alone at this stage, becoming more likely to become endemic requiring periodic vaccines, similar to the flu vaccine. However, the more people who refuse to be vaccinated, the more likely the virus is to spread, which increases the potential for mutation.
Currently, there are a variety of strains of Covid-19, the most dangerous being the Delta strain, which has mutated out of India as a result of the country’s outbreak. According to the World Health Organization, current vaccinations should protect against mutated strains, but with large numbers of people refusing to be vaccinated, this creates a kneading dish for the virus to survive, thrive, and potentially spread. mutates the way not protect against.
So any argument that this is a “personal decision” is moot. Isolated, a person who refuses to be vaccinated only puts themselves in danger, but when 50% of the population decides not to be vaccinated, they put everyone in danger. Darnold and Sweat, both in positions of notoriety and influence, essentially support the anti-vaccination movement when they say they “need to know more”.
It’s curious that two NFL players are so averse to injections. After all, this is a league where shooting players with large amounts of the pain reliever Toradol in order to get them to play despite the pain is one of the most common treatments seen in the locker room at half-time. . A drug with known risks and side effects so severe that former defensive forward Albert Haynesworth attributed Toradol overuse as the reason he needed a kidney transplant in his 30s. A drug that the NFL now urges teams to limit because it has been abused to the point of becoming a danger to players.
Maybe Darnold and Sweat refused to have a Toradol shot in the locker room. I would bet most of their peers didn’t.
As Washington calls in health experts to try to convince players not to be stupid and get the shot, and the Panthers take a passive approach and make it a personal choice – at least an NFL coach is the voice of reason.
I asked Bruce Arians if he had brought in a specialist to talk to the players about the vaccine like coach Ron Rivera did in Washington.
“I AM THE SPECIALIST,” Arians said.
He told the players, “If you want to get back to normal, get yourself vaccinated. »Pic.twitter.com/CDX92Kgsuh
– JennaLaineESPN (@JennaLaineESPN) June 10, 2021
Sadly, Arians’ position is far too calm a voice in the sports world. Many more coaches and officials would rather not rock the boat than call it for what it is: utter selfishness and stupidity. It was silly when LeBron James won’t say if he got the shot playing in a league where Karl-Anthony Towns’ mother died, and Jayson Tatum still needs an inhaler months after he got the disease to play. It’s stupid now for NFL players to give anti-vaccine credit by suggesting that there is more to learn.
Washington coach Ron Rivera said the team’s coaching staff and front office had reached 100% vaccination, but players were lagging behind by “almost 50%”. Making the team feel the need to bring in an expert to chat with the players, but even then Sweat felt his knowledge of viral and infectious diseases as a football player was superior to that of a trained virologist. at Harvard.
What we need in all sports is extra intervention to protect the players from themselves. The NFL and NFLPA have agreed to institute concussion protocols to prevent players from returning to games with head trauma and risk of debilitation. The same has to happen with Covid. Teams can make a number of medical decisions for players, this is an accepted part of the process.
Now the NFL and NFLPA have to step in and say that if players are willing to make their personal choice not to get the shot, they are also making the personal choice not to play until they do.
