Michigan to Receive COVID-19 Booster Shot As a Team Ahead of College Football Playoff

As COVID-19 cases continue to rise across the country, Michigan football is taking a step as a team to get ahead of the virus. 

Offensive lineman Andrew Stueber told reporters on Tuesday that the players will get their COVID-19 boosters on Wednesday in an effort to keep as many players available against Georgia in the College Football Playoff as possible, describing it as a “full-team booster shot,” per the Detroit Free Press. 

He did not give an exact amount of how many players are expected to get the booster, but added that the team has been taking extra precautions. 

“That’s definitely a growing concern of ours,” Stueber said Tuesday. “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).”

According to the New York Times as of 11:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Florida is averaging 8,474 cases daily with a daily average hospitalization of 1,533. Over the course of the last 14 days, Florida cases have increased by 371%. Miami-Dade County, where the Orange Bowl will be held between the Bulldogs and Wolverines, has seen its cases spike to 1,649 cases per day. 

"I think everyone understands the gravity of the situation, to have an outbreak now would be devastating to a lot of people," Stueber said. "Understanding the concern there is a big thing, so we’ve taken the proper precautions there."