Dr. Anthony Fauci has chimed in on the NFL’s new COVID-19 protocols, which dictate that any outbreaks among unvaccinated players could result in forfeited games.
As first reported by NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero on Thursday, the NFL sent out a memo to teams in the league explaining the new regulations. If a game cannot be rescheduled within the 18-week schedule due to any potential outbreaks of COVID-19 in unvaxxed players, the team will be forced to forfeit and be issued a loss. Players from both teams of any forfeited games will not be paid if the games don’t go ahead, and the team responsible for any cancellations as a result of unvaccinated players will be forced to cover the financial losses.
While some players, such as DeAndre Hopkins, have expressed their displeasure about the news, America’s leading expert on infectious diseases, Dr. Fauci, thinks these rules are a good step.
“The NFL is sending a very strong signal that it's very important to get vaccinated," said Dr. Fauci in an appearance on CBS Evening News. "If you want to play football and you want to do it in a way that you feel unrestricted and not worry about any penalties, you just get vaccinated, because they're saying that if unvaccinated people get infected, there are going to be consequences."
The NFL is not mandating players get vaccinated, but the new guidelines could result in massive revenue losses for the league’s players. Recent data suggests that 78 percent of players in the NFL have already had at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose. Dr. Fauci believes the new guidelines could encourage other entities to roll out similar rules.
"I think that gives them the impetus to do the same sort of thing,” he added. “And I think you're going to be seeing that there will be local mandates, be they from colleges and universities or places of business that there will be pressures for people to get vaccinated."
