It came as a surprise to players and staff at Wolves when they learned that vaccinating 100 per cent of their playing squad was some kind of special achievement.
They had assumed that, like them, everyone else had arranged for their players and staff to have the jab as soon as it became available to under 30s, around the end of last season. The club made the trip to a local vaccination centre a whole group event and had trusted doctor Matt Perry on hand to offer scientific guidance to those uncertain, supported by then-manager Nuno Espiritio Santo, a big believer in the vaccine.
And perhaps getting ahead of the game, before the vaccine rolled out to a more internet and social media-savvy age group and saw a sharp rise in pushback, was a significant factor, and why at other clubs there is now such a struggle.
One source who has worked at several Premier League clubs told me on Monday that dressing rooms are like “mini-families” – close-knit groups with parental figures that quickly react to situations – and that once a position is taken it is quickly entrenched. Where anti-vaxx theories haven taken hold, it’s proving hard to break them, particularly if leadership figures are convinced.
The exact level of vaccination across the top flight remains uncertain – that the league and its clubs have largely refused to reveal figures in itself reveals it isn’t great. Leeds United, Brentford and Southampton are others who’ve achieved success, but the rest are patchy.
Indeed it’s such an issue that it’s been been discussed at recent Premier League meetings, and that guidance was sent to clubs explaining that those with high vaccination rates could be afforded certain Covid-related advantages in the coming months.
These are likely to take the form of relaxed rules and the approach of Premiership Rugby has been noticed. Rugby Union squads with a vaccination rate of 85 per cent or higher have been allowed to drop social distancing and masks around training and at stadiums, and there has been a slight relaxation of testing.
Even these, however, pale in comparison to America’s National Basketball Association (NBA), where the Premier League could look to for advice on how to convince their players that having the vaccine will not implant a microchip for Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates in their arm, nor will it render them infertile.
The NBA has set an example
A list of health and safety protocols explaining how life was going to get a lot harder for players refusing to have a Covid vaccine was circulated to NBA players last week. They will be banned from eating in the same room as the vaccinated, given isolated lockers, sit away from others in meetings.
They will not be allowed to attend restaurants, clubs and any kind of large indoor gathering. When playing away, they will not be allowed to leave the team hotel. At home, they should remain in their permanent residence, apart from trips that are absolutely necessary, such as taking kids to school.
Clearly, it’s going to be a pretty bleak existence for basketball players who continue to refuse vaccination. And you might think these strict restrictions are the NBA’s hardline approach to tackling a vaccination problem. Not so: these are the measures taken when 95 per cent of squads are vaccinated, to round up the remaining stragglers.
Indeed, over in America, LA Lakers star LeBron James has been criticised for not using his platform to encourage people to get vaccinated. Yet compared to any Premier League player, his comments on the matter are practically a call to arms.
“I think everyone has their own choice to do what they feel is right for themselves and their family and things of that nature,” James said. “I know that I was very [skeptical] about it all. But after doing my research and things of that nature, I felt like it was best suited for not only me but for my family and my friends.”
Few of English football’s celebrities have come forward to discuss the issue, although Jurgen Klopp, who said “pretty much all” Liverpool’s players are vaccinated, made a strong case against the anti-vaxxers in a video that went viral during the weekend.
“With the vaccination, we assume it’s not good for our body. Even though most of the specialists tell us the vaccination is the solution for the situation in the moment,” the Liverpool manager said. “That’s for me exactly the same: I don’t take the vaccination only to protect me, I take the vaccination to protect all the people around me.
“I don’t understand where that is a limitation of freedom. Because if it is, then not being allowed to drink and drive is a limitation of freedom as well. But we accept that. But the other one definitely leads to massive problems if you don’t sort the situation.
“We’re not allowed to ask people if they’re vaccinated, but I’m allowed to ask a taxi if you’re drunk. If they say well I don’t have to tell you, OK I don’t drive with you. No problem.
“I get the vaccination, yes. I was concerned about myself but even more so about everybody around me. If I get it and suffer off it – my fault. If I get it and spread it to somebody else – my fault and not their fault.”
Klopp is right. And if life becomes a lot harder for unvaccinated players in the coming winter, they will have only themselves to blame.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/2YkZRPp
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