Vikings Toss Up Hail Mary with Team Epidemiologist Appearance
Although Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer stated two weeks ago that he was “done” talking about the coronavirus vaccine, the topic remains on his mind.
On Monday — the day that the FDA approved the Pfizer COVID vaccine — the Vikings presented epidemiologist and infectious disease expert Michael Osterholm before the team.
Dr. Michael Osterholm spoke to the Vikings, who have the NFL's lowest vaccination rate, this morning about the COVID-19 vaccines.
Mike Zimmer: "He answered a lot of questions. Whether or not that changes anything, I don't know."
— Chad Graff (@ChadGraff) August 23, 2021
Team vaccinations rates are difficult to attain due to personal privacy, but here Chad Graff of The Athletic affirms that the Vikings are still at the bottom of the league for vaccine engagement. And that’s where the number lived a few weeks ago when quarterbacks Kirk Cousins, Kellen Mond, and Nate Stanley quarantined from the team for five days due to vaccination status. Mond, the Vikings rookie passer, contracted the virus, so Cousins and Stanley had to abstain from team activities because they were presumably not vaccinated.
For those unvaccinated players, this circumstance could replicate at any moment — tomorrow, Week 1, Week 10, or in the playoffs. That’s the concern for on-the-field implications.
To Zimmer, however, the vaccination debate — which has engulfed the nation for some bizarre reason — is about the safety of players and families, football be damned.
"I just care about these players and I care about their families. That's my main reason. If they miss a game because they get COVID, so be it. But I don't want them to get sick, I don't want their families to get sick, their kids to get sick or my grandkids to get sick." – Zimmer pic.twitter.com/ff565UYcHr
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) August 23, 2021
Most folks theorized Zimmer as the football-guy stalwart for vaccine hubbub [and that is probably true to a degree] but from the man’s mouth, he cares for the person and his people, not simply the gridiron fallout. He even pivoted to the notion of his baby granddaughters possibly getting the virus. Newfound grandfatherhood will do that to a man.
However, even Zimmer admits the notion of the unvaccinated men changing opinions is a longshot.
"Very good with his points, answered a lot of questions, whether or not that changes anything, I don't know, but we're very thankful that he was able to come over and talk to the team in person." – Coach Zimmer on Dr. Michael Osterholm pic.twitter.com/ujRynqLXeK
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) August 23, 2021
Last week, the Atlanta Falcons became the league’s first team to fully vaccinate. That’s the utopian vision for Zimmer and the Vikings, albeit one that probably won’t be fulfilled. When “vaccination rates” trickled out as newsworthy items, the Washington Football Team owned lowest-in-the-NFL designation. After some education and encouragement, Washington markedly upped the number in a short period of time. That, too, would be welcomed by the Vikings coaching staff and management.
In about one week, all teams must cut rosters down to 53 men, an event that suddenly unemploys over 800 players. Whether a player is vaccinated could, in theory, be decision-making criteria for players on the proverbial bubble. Agree or disagree with vaccines as tools to improve public health — a player’s availability is arguably the most important aspect of his standing on a team. That won’t prevent the heavy hitters from making teams, but it could potentially affect those that teeter.
About 61% of Minnesotans have received at least one installment of the vaccine as of August 23rd. Therefore, this is a nationwide head-scratcher — not just the Minnesota Vikings.