Michigan football team holding 'full-team booster shot' event ahead of College Football Playoff
With COVID-19 infection rates soaring around the country, Michigan football has scheduled a mass vaccination event for players, coaches and staff members to receive booster shots ahead of the team’s trip to Florida for its College Football Playoff semifinal.
The session, described by offensive tackle Andrew Stueber as a “full-team booster shot” is scheduled for Wednesday, three days before the Wolverines depart for Fort Lauderdale on Christmas. Kickoff against Georgia is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET Dec. 31.
“That’s definitely a growing concern of ours,” Stueber said Tuesday evening. “We’ve implemented masks in meetings, kind of maintaining social distancing. A lot of people are taking their meals to go now and not really sitting (together) too much. But it’s a lot safer now out there. A lot of students have left the campus (for winter break).”
The extra precautions for coach Jim Harbaugh’s team come at a time when COVID-19 cases have increased by 294% in Florida over the last 14 days, according to The New York Times. Florida is averaging 7,068 new cases and 1,538 new hospitalizations per day during that stretch.
Broward County, where Michigan will be headquartered throughout the week, and Miami-Dade County, where the game will be played, are the two most explosive areas in the state. The former is averaging 672 new cases per day while the latter has spiked to 1,649 cases per day.
In Michigan, cases have decreased by 27% over the last 14 days, to an average of 6,284 per day, but hospitalizations are only down 4%. Washtenaw County is averaging 180 new cases per day.
“I think everyone understands kind of the gravity of the situation,” Stueber said. “To kind of have an outbreak now would be devastating to a lot of people. Just understanding the concern there is a big thing, so we’re taking the proper precautions.”
The Wolverines entered the season with a 99% vaccination rate, according to Harbaugh, and made the necessary accommodations for the remaining individuals. Those accommodations included wearing masks inside Schembechler Hall and attending certain meetings virtually rather than sharing rooms with teammates. At the time, Harbaugh declined to say whether the unvaccinated players intended to get vaccinated in the future.
Stueber told reporters he could not recall anyone missing practice due to COVID-19 infections or direct exposures during the last few weeks.
“However many percent of the team is vaccinated, so we’re good there,” Stueber said. “Kind of only if they’re feeling a little sick (would they miss practice). Nothing but the common cold, I guess, (is what) we’ve gotten hit with.”
Contact Michael Cohen at mcohen@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @Michael_Cohen13.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football team staging booster shot event ahead of playoff
