The NFL has proposed increasing the rate of COVID-19 testing for vaccinated players as cases increase nationwide and several teams are dealing with groups of cases that have left out prominent players and coaches this summer.
The league wants to move vaccinated player tests to once every seven days from every 14 days, NFL general counsel Larry Ferazani said Thursday in a media briefing. Players who are not fully vaccinated would continue to do daily testing. The proposal requires the approval of the NFL Players Association, which has been pushing for all players (vaccinated and unvaccinated) to be tested daily.
“This is based on our best effort … to provide the safest possible environment for our players,” Ferazani said.
In a statement to ESPN, the NFLPA did not accept the proposal: “The COVID environment is constantly changing and our success last year was not only based on a cooperative basis, but more importantly, on listening to our experts. It’s clear from what we know about the Delta variant and from what we’ve already seen with the clubs, the tests need to be a bigger focal point. “
As of Thursday, nearly 93 percent of NFL players are vaccinated at least partially, according to NFL chief medical officer Dr. Allen Sills. Staff members have been vaccinated almost 100% since the beginning of the training camp.
Between August 1 and 21, the league recorded 68 positive tests among all players and 7,190 test staff. Data per league, approximately seven times more unvaccinated players have tested positive than vaccinated players. Some teams have produced multiple positive tests at about the same time, most notably the Tennessee Titans, who currently lack coach Mike Vrabel and quarterback Ryan Tannehill, among others. But Sills said none of those cases have been classified as “outbreaks” because there was no evidence of “continued widespread spread within the club.”
In one of these groups, which Sills refused to identify, 38% of a team’s unvaccinated players were infected. One argument for increasing testing among vaccinated players is whether they are found to spread the virus to teammates or even family members. Asked if this has happened and pushed for the proposal for more evidence, Sills said, “It’s a tricky question to answer.” He acknowledged that the league has seen “small groups of positive cases among vaccinated individuals who share a common exposure,” but said it was unclear who from that group had disseminated it to whom.
The NFLPA’s drive to test all players on a daily basis is rooted in the protocols adopted for the 2020 season, which were put in place and carried out before vaccines became available. Sills, however, said the tests themselves did not prevent outbreaks last season and that other mitigation policies, including masking and avoiding meetings and meals in person, proved more valuable.
“People tend to focus on safety and it’s very important that we realize that testing is not prevention,” Sills said. “Testing doesn’t stop anyone from transmitting the virus. It’s part of our mitigation strategy, but it’s not the key part. … Obviously, testing is useful and can be beneficial, but we try to apply it to a goal. “smartly and we try to test those people who are most at risk, and that’s what we will continue to recommend. But it’s not the tests that will get us through this wave or the future of our season here.”
ESPN’s Dan Graziano contributed to this report.