PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The NFL is taking new preventive measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19. The league sent a memo to its teams on Monday stating that all Tier 1 and Tier 2 employees who have previously received the vaccine must have their booster shot by Dec. 27.
That applies to coaches, front office employees and staff who deal directly with players, but players themselves are not subject to the mandate, because that has not been negotiated with their union.
In addition, 36 players across the NFL went on the COVID-19 list on Monday. That's a season high. Eagles wide receiver Quez Watkins and practice squad running back Jason Huntley are on the list, but for the most part, the Eagles have done well avoiding COVID-19 complications this season.
Injured defensive Brandon Graham suggested on his 94WIP radio show that players have probably been staying at home more.
"If you do do anything, make sure you're safe and do all you can to prevent things," he said. "Because I know, for me, I wear my mask a lot, even though I'm vaccinated, just so that I won't hurt nobody on our team."
Merrill Reese, the Voice of the Eagles, said Tuesday that losing so many players to the COVID-19 list can wreak havoc, and the NFL must do everything possible to keep the virus from spreading anymore.
Reese had tweeted on Sunday that "next Sunday’s game is the most important the Eagles have played in two years."
The Eagles' opponent on Sunday is the Washington football team, which placed four players on the COVID-19 list on Monday, including defensive tackle Jonathan Allen, who leads them in sacks.
Meanwhile, Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said he believes complacency has become a worldwide issue.
"People get fatigued from it," Carroll said. "It’s stressful when you have to be continually reminded and thoughtful of something that you wouldn’t normally do. It wears on you, and we try to avoid it. We look for ways to get out of it. That’s the conversation we hear all the time. That’s the national clamor."
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The league says anyone who is not currently subject to the requirement for boosters will be required to obtain the booster within 14 days of becoming eligible.
Teams were asked to provide booster shots to all eligible tiered staff as soon as possible, and to consider making booster shots available for player and staff families and cohabitants.
Last month, the NFL required players and staff to wear masks inside team facilities regardless of vaccination status for a week, and ordered they be tested twice for COVID-19 after the Thanksgiving holiday. The league’s protocols then were updated as a result of increasing rates of COVID-19 across the country. At the time, nearly 95% of NFL players were vaccinated, and almost 100% of NFL personnel were vaccinated.
The league has been conducting genetic sequencing tests on positive cases to determine exact strains of the virus. NFL medical director Allen Sills said in November such testing showed that one club had eight positive cases within a two-week span but each case was unrelated, meaning the individuals were exposed to the virus from someone outside the facility.
“That shows our protocols are working and they’re doing what they’re designed to do, which is to prevent the virus from spreading in an uncontrolled manner throughout teams,” Sills said.
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But the more recent numbers are alarming, particularly on Monday.
"Here we go. We're in the last month of the season, and we've got a shot to make it through," Carroll said. "I don’t know, after today, what’s going to happen, but everybody has to continually be reminded. Stop griping about it. Stop griping about being healthy and helping other people be healthy. I mean … I don't get that. That's beyond me.
"It's so far away from personal rights. I don’t get it. ... It's constant as anything we've ever been around. We just have to do a good job. I've got to do better. I have to remind guys more."