The NFL is requiring coaches, front-office staff and team personnel to receive a COVID-19 booster by Dec. 27.
The league's requirement extends to all Tier 1 and Tier 2 individuals who have previously received the vaccine.
Though players are in the Tier 1 designation along with coaches and trainers, the mandate doesn't apply to players because discussions with the NFL Players Association are ongoing.
The Associated Press reports that those not eligible (by CDC definition) and those who have contracted the virus within 90 days will not be mandated to get a booster. Those who received monoclonal antibodies and those "whose 'S' antibody level on an antibody test administered via BRL (BioReference Lab) at the club facility is 2500 or greater" also do not need to get a booster.
Teams placed 36 players on the league's COVID-19 reserve list Monday. According to The Associated Press, that's the most in a single day this season.
While the NFL and the NFLPA have not agreed to a vaccine mandate among players, those who have not gotten shots are subjected to daily COVID-19 testing, continued mask use in facilities and off-the-field travel restrictions. Vaccinated players are not required to follow those guidelines.
The CDC recommends that a person who received their second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine more than six months ago should receive a booster shot. People who got the Johnson & Johnson vaccine should get a booster after two months.
