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In its weekly release of data on COVID-19 testing throughout the sport, Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association said Friday that four teams already reached 85-percent vaccination among all Tier 1 individuals, which bring with it relaxed health and safety protocols while at the stadium and on road trips.
MLB and MLBPA also announced Friday that 81 percent of Tier 1 individuals throughout the sport are considered fully or partially vaccinated.
In addition, five more teams have had at least 85% of those in Tier 1 — players, coaches, trainers, and others who require direct physical contact with players, no more than 70 per team — receive the final dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, which means once two weeks have passed after the final shot, those teams will pass the vaccination threshold.
It is unclear whether the Dodgers are one of those five teams, though they haven’t announced anything just yet.
“I don’t have the most recent numbers, but we are very, very close, if not over,” Dodgers CEO Stan Kasten said last Saturday. “But we’ve done well. Remember, you also need a couple weeks after the second shot, so we’re going to get it within a couple weeks.”
Since then, the Dodgers have placed three players — Dennis Santana, Victor Gonzalez, and Mitch White — on the COVID-19-related injured list for not feeling after receiving a vaccination shot, though none missed more than two days.
“Once you get the second vaccine, it’s another two weeks until you get that kind of clearance,” manager Dave Roberts said Thursday. “Check back with me in about 8-10 days, and I think that number will be increased.”
Links
- After having a trial run on a “fully-vaccinated section” at Dodger Stadium on April 24, the Dodgers will sell tickets in two different areas for fully-vaccinated folks beginning with the next homestand. This time, in addition to sections 166 and 168 on the loge level, reserve levels 32, 36, and 40 will also be available, with tickets available at a 20-percent discount off comparable seats. Prices begin at $34, with more details at the Dodgers website.
- With vaccine demand down in California, Dodger Stadium will shut down as a vaccination site at the end of May, reports Colleen Shalby of the Los Angeles Times.