Tuesday, Jul 27, 2021. 6:31 PM
RICHMOND, Go. – Washington football head coach Ron Rivera said he was frustrated with his team’s vaccination pace as training camp opened.
According to him, about half of Washington’s players at camp are fully vaccinated.
The NFL claimed last week that 80 percent of players on the Tour have started their vaccination process.
She added that 27 of the league’s 32 teams had at least 70 percent of players who received at least one dose.
Washington is not one of those teams, at around 60 percent. Rivera, a cancer survivor, had to take additional safety measures.
“I am really frustrated, he said at a press conference. I am more than frustrated. One of the reasons I wear a mask is because I am immunocompromised.
“With this new variant, who knows? When I am in a group where the guys are not vaccinated or only some of them are, I wear a mask, for health reasons. “
Rivera suffered from skin cancer last year. The reluctance of some of his players to be vaccinated is one of the major challenges of the camp for the coach, who will lead the team for a second year.
“It could really put us at a disadvantage,” he said, citing the COVID-19 outbreak that occurred in Denver last season. The Broncos had been deprived of all of their quarterbacks and were forced to use a rookie receiver at that position
“By the rules, you don’t just risk your paycheck, but that of others as well,” he continued. I think we all have to think about it. “
It’s not like Rivera and his staff haven’t tried. The Washington team enlisted the services of Harvard immunologist Kizzmekia S. Corbett, who helped design the Moderna vaccine, to come talk to the players.
Defensive end Montez Sweat said at the time that he did not support the team’s vaccination campaign.
“I’m probably not going to get the vaccine until I have more facts and that kind of stuff,” he said.
“We have a group of guys who want more information,” Rivera said. The frustrating thing is that we try to get them as much as possible and as quickly as possible. They still have to make their own decisions. “
