In a letter sent to NFL players on Monday night, the NFL Players’ Association advised their members that they will continue to negotiate for more COVID-19 testing even as the NFL has moved the testing interval for vaccinated players to once a week from the existing 14-day window.
“While the League’s proposal results in increased testing frequency for vaccinated individuals, it does not sufficiently solve for the real risk of virus transmission going undetected inside a Club facility,” the letter said, a source provided to PFT. “However, because testing once a week is better than once every 14 days, we will not oppose the changes outlined above. Based on the advice of our medical experts and the emerging science concerning the spread of the Delta variant, we will continue to negotiate for a testing cadence that maximizes protections for players and ensures that games will be played this season.”
The intention of the increased testing routine for players is so asymptomatic positive cases that may present undetected among players who are vaccinated has less chance of spreading to players who may not be vaccinated.
The NFLPA was suggesting daily testing for all players. For the time being, that regimen will remain with just unvaccinated players.
Players and staff who test positive can’t return until they generate two consecutive lab-based PCR tests at least 24 hours apart.
