Dr. Anthony Fauci: NFL ‘sending a very strong signal’ with new Covid-19 protocols

Related: NFL’s new Covid-19 protocols send a clear message: Get vaccinated, or fear the consequences

The NFL released its new Coronavirus guidelines on Thursday, effectively telling its teams to get vaccinated or fear the consequences. One person very much in favor of those new Covid-19 rules is the nation’s leading immunologist.

Appearing on CBS’ Evening News on Thursday, Dr. Anthony Fauci spoke positively about the league’s pro-vaccination stance.

“The NFL is sending a very strong signal that it’s very important to get vaccinated,” Fauci said. “If you want to play football and you want to do it in a way that you feel unrestricted and not worry about any penalties, you just get vaccinated, because they’re saying that if unvaccinated people get infected, there are going to be consequences.”

As of Thursday, more than 78 percent of players league-wide have received at least one vaccine shot. However, only 14 of 32 clubs have crossed the 85-percent threshold so far.

Fauci thinks that the league’s actions could trigger other institutions to follow suit.

“I think that gives them the impetus to do the same sort of thing,” he said. “And I think you’re going to be seeing that there will be local mandates, be they from colleges and universities or places of business that there will be pressures for people to get vaccinated.”

As far as the New England Patriots are concerned, there have been no reports about a vaccination rate but it is believed to be among the highest in the league.