The signs show information for a vaccination site run by the Santa Clara County Department of Health at Levi’s Stadium, home of the San Francisco 49ers NFL football team in Santa Clara, California, February 9, 2021.
Brittany Hosea-Small | Reuters
The NFL is taking the strongest position so far when it comes to returning to normal due to the pandemic.
The message? Get vaccinated.
In a note obtained by CNBC, Commissioner Roger Goodell said: “Given the extended eligibility of the vaccine, it is appropriate to take further steps now to educate and promote vaccine availability and acceptance in the NFL.”
As part of this directive, the league says that all employees, except players (called level 1 and level 2 employees), are expected to be vaccinated unless they have a basic medical or religious reason for not doing so. this thing.
Level 1 employees include coaches and coaches, and Level 2 employees include general managers, assistant coaches and employees in football operations. The note states that any employee who refuses to do so without an approved reason will not have access to the “football only” restricted area and will not be able to work with players directly or in the immediate vicinity.
Although vaccination is not required for players at this time, the note instructs teams to report weekly the number of employees who have been vaccinated. He is said to be actively working with the NFLPA on a set of protocol changes that would apply to clubs when vaccination levels reach a certain threshold that would allow them to weaken the protocols implemented due to the pandemic. That would mean he could relax everything from quarantine restrictions to canteen and locker room use.
The league also encourages teams to hold vaccine briefings for players, families and staff to address any concerns they may have.
“Educate your employees and share the work-related benefits of vaccination,” the note reads.
The NFL also played a key role in vaccinating the general public. Recently, at its annual meeting, the NFL reported that more than 1.5 million doses were administered at the club’s facilities. Tuesday’s memo encourages teams to continue to use their stadium or training facilities to vaccinate their employees, players and families through “vaccination days” or something similar.
“The overwhelming consensus among medical and public health experts is that the most effective way for anyone to avoid the risk of contracting Covid-19 – and the risk of infecting others – is to be vaccinated,” the note concludes.