If 95 percent are vaccinated, why are more than 100 NFL players sidelined with Covid?

… call it the “Aaron Rodgers effect”

I guess the obvious question is this, “How many NFL players did what Antonio Brown did?

And, is that the reason that 100 are in Covid protocol at this time?

A.B. lied and forged a vaccination certificate. Aaron Rodgers lied. Did Roger Goodell also lie about the 95 percent?

They are blaming the new variant, but is that the whole story?

In the NFL, it is like “1984,” and Goodell is "Big Brother." Vladimir Putin would the thrilled with the secrecy that Goodell has built in his league. 

At this juncture, three games have been postponed, and the future, which looked so rosy in August with vaccines paving the way to a secure year, now looks shady. 

They finally understand -- a little

The NFL has caved to the player’s union and has agreed to changes, but it may be entirely too late,

The Omicron variant has been detected in multiple leagues, and spawned what NFL chief medical officer Allen Sills called “a new phase of the pandemic.” League officials have spent the week trying to figure out how to confront it. “The dynamics of the pandemic have changed for us,” Sills said Wednesday. “And I think that’s going to cause us to challenge some of our previous assumptions and also update our strategies and our solutions.”

Among the proposed solutions were everything from daily testing to, reportedly, no testing for players who’ve received booster shots …

The NFL’s tweaks were, however, what some experts see as an initial step toward a new approach across sports. It could someday include a willingness to let athletes play through COVID. It will, at the very least, involve finding expedited routes back to fields and courts after positive tests.

Henry Bushnell, “NFL’s updated COVID protocols are a step toward ‘a new phase of the pandemic’ in sports,” Yahoo Sports, December 17, 2021

A more extensive plan

While they pussyfoot around the problem and risk postponing games and their postseason, some other plans are out there,

Public health experts are nearly unanimously against any change that would reduce testing frequency, even as a means to indirectly allow vaccinated, asymptomatic COVID-positive players on the field. With Omicron surging, doing so would let the virus rip through many locker rooms.

But they don’t categorically dismiss an alternate idea:

• Test all players daily, as the NFLPA has advocated, to prevent massive outbreaks within teams and reduce the risk of players spreading the virus to family members or the community.

• Continue to require anybody who tests positive to isolate for 7-10 days away from work, attend meetings virtually, and avoid any close contact with anybody indoors.

• But, allow them to return to practice and games if they and their team choose to, provided they:
• Are vaccinated and remain asymptomatic
• Wear a mask at all times except mid-play
• Distance from all teammates, coaches and others whenever possible, including in the locker room and on sidelines
• Travel in personal vehicles or on separate planes

Such a plan would, in theory, bring the best of both worlds. It would protect everyday citizens, family members, and even players and team staffers themselves — because daily testing significantly increases the chance of detecting a case before transmission can occur. It would also allow young, healthy players feeling unaffected by the virus to perform the most integral parts of their jobs.