The NFL will not mandate COVID-19 vaccines. Thus, it stands to reason, even with incentives offered to teams and players who are vaccinated, some players aren’t going to get a shot.
Bills quarterback Josh Allen could be one of those.
In an appearance on The Ringer’s “10 Questions With Kyle Brandt” podcast, Allen said he has not had a vaccine and might not get one.
“I’m still debating that,” Allen said, via Matt Parrino of nyup.com. “I’m a big statistics and logical guy. So, if statistics show it’s the right thing for me to do, I’d do it. Again, I’d lean the other way, too, if that’s what it said. I haven’t been paying attention to it as much as maybe I should have. I’ve just been doing my thing and masking up when I’m going out and just staying close and hanging around family.”
It is unclear what statistics Allen needs to see to convince him to get a shot. The Pfizer vaccine was shown a 95 percent efficacy rate in preventing symptomatic COVID-19, just 1 percentage point more than Moderna’s. The single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine was shown to have a 72 percent efficacy rate in the United States in preventing symptomatic illness and an 85 percent efficacy rate in preventing the most severe disease 28 days after vaccination.
Allen, 24, made clear he’s against any kind of mandate.
“I think everybody should have that choice to do it or not to do it,” Allen said. “You get in this tricky situation now where if you do mandate that that’s kind of going against what our constitution says and the freedom to kind of express yourself one way or the other. I think we’re in a time where that’s getting a lot harder to do. Everybody should have that choice.”
However, the league expects to amend certain protocols for those who are vaccinated and for teams as a whole if certain vaccination levels are met, which will encourage (pressure?) players to get a COVID-19 shot.