Report: Alabama Football One Person Away From Full Vaccination

Crimson Tide is apparently down to one holdout with the regular season opener just over two weeks away.

Minus one person, the University of Alabama football team has been completely vaccinated per Nick Saban in an interview with ESPN. 

He didn't clarify if it was a player, staff member or coach who was holding out. 

“All but one of our guys has been vaccinated, but it could still be an issue,” Saban said in a Q&A with Mark Schlabach. “They say if 90 percent [of your team] is vaccinated, you're OK, but who knows? At least if you're vaccinated you don't have to quarantine guys.”

Saban is set to meet with Crimson Tide reporters following Wednesday's practice. 

The Southeastern Conference is requiring teams reach an 85 percent vaccination threshold in order to opt out of COVID-19 testing protocols this season. That's a significant departure from last year, when players who received a positive diagnosis had to isolate for at least 10 full days. 

This season, fully vaccinated individuals do not have to quarantine after close exposure to someone with COVID-19 if they are asymptomatic.

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said at SEC media days that six of the 14 football teams in the league had reached 80 percent vaccination. Ole Miss has announced it has reached 100 percent. 

The commissioner also noted that SEC games will not be rescheduled if a team is unable to compete because of a depleted roster due to positive tests.

“I think there's two issues when it comes to vaccines,” Saban said. “First of all, we have a majority of our players who have gotten the vaccine, and we've given every player on our team the choice to do that. I think there's a couple things to consider. First of all, you have a personal decision, which comes down to risk -- risk of COVID, relative risk to the vaccine. It's the same thing. We don't really have a lot of knowledge about how this stuff is going to affect people in the future, so that's a personal decision that everybody has the right to make.

“On the other hand, you also have a competitive decision to make because you're going to be a part of a team. So how does the personal choice and decision you make affect the team?”