The NFL on Tuesday sent a memo to teams encouraging both staff and players to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
The league requested that all teams set up a vaccination day for employees to receive inoculations, with eligibility for the vaccine extended to people 18 and over in most states.
“It is appropriate now to take further steps to educate about and promote vaccine availability and acceptance within the NFL,” reads the memo posted by ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The memo outlined steps the league should take such as using a teams’ “stadium or training facility as a vaccination site for club staff, players and eligible family members.”
The memo also emphasized that staffers who work in close proximity with players who have a Tier 1 or 2 status determined by the league will be required to get the vaccine unless they have a religious or medical reason preventing them from doing so.
“Tier 1 and 2 employees (other than players) should be expected to be vaccinated unless they have a bona fide medical or religious ground for not doing so. Any staffer that refuses to be vaccinated without either a religious or medical reason will not be eligible for Tier 1 or 2 status and therefore will not be permitted to access to the ‘football only’ restricted area and may not work directly or in close proximity with players.”
As another incentive to encourage staff to get vaccinated, the NFL stated that clubs should educate their employees on the “work-related benefits” of receiving the shot.
“Those benefits include not being tested, not being required to wear a tracking device, not being considered a high-risk close contact, not being required to quarantine if exposed to Covid-19, and greater flexibility outside the facility,” the memo states.
The NFL will also require teams to report the percentage of tiered employees who have been vaccinated by April 19, according to the memo.
Last year, the NFL imposed “intensive protocols,” requiring masks to be worn in team facilities, and virtual meetings.