[TrumpCard]

How many players have had serious results from Covid?  Players aren’t going to transmit to fans.  So, if it’s only between the players, is it truly that dumb?  At some point this flips from a pandemic to an endemic.  And the rules will have to change. This can’t go on indefinitely.

I’m most concerned about the publicly stated justification for the end of routine testing. It’s false, and it’s spreading that false information to millions of people. At least the NFL should have the guts to say this: “NFL players already take extreme risks to their health by playing pro football. The players who decide to play this season will also have to accept the risk of getting COVID. We aren’t going to quarantine players when they are asymptomatic because we assume most or all players will eventually get COVID this season even if we set policies that are as cautious as the public health authorities recommend because the players are going to be in close contact and unmasked. Because of that, there is no point in testing players who are asymptomatic and don’t require medical attention.  We don’t recommend this approach for the general public.”

Even with a statement like that, I’d have some concern that NFL players would be transmitting COVID to the rest of the population because they aren’t living in a bubble like the NBA players did last summer, but I’d be less upset with the NFL as an organization.

COVID may become endemic soon, but we’re currently averaging 1,160 deaths per day (which would imply 423,400 annual deaths). That’s like 40x an average flu season, despite vaccines and extensive non-medical interventions. That doesn’t feel particularly close to being endemic.

[TrumpCard]

How many players have had serious results from Covid?  Players aren’t going to transmit to fans.  So, if it’s only between the players, is it truly that dumb?  At some point this flips from a pandemic to an endemic.  And the rules will have to change. This can’t go on indefinitely.

I’m most concerned about the publicly stated justification for the end of routine testing. It’s false, and it’s spreading that false information to millions of people. At least the NFL should have the guts to say this: “NFL players already take extreme risks to their health by playing pro football. The players who decide to play this season will also have to accept the risk of getting COVID. We aren’t going to quarantine players when they are asymptomatic because we assume most or all players will eventually get COVID this season even if we set policies that are as cautious as the public health authorities recommend because the players are going to be in close contact and unmasked. Because of that, there is no point in testing players who are asymptomatic and don’t require medical attention.  We don’t recommend this approach for the general public.”

Even with a statement like that, I’d have some concern that NFL players would be transmitting COVID to the rest of the population because they aren’t living in a bubble like the NBA players did last summer, but I’d be less upset with the NFL as an organization.

COVID may become endemic soon, but we’re currently averaging 1,160 deaths per day (which would imply 423,400 annual deaths). That’s like 40x an average flu season, despite vaccines and extensive non-medical interventions. That doesn’t feel particularly close to being endemic.