Matisse Thybulle Not Fully Vaccinated, Can’t Play in Toronto for First Round of Playoffs

Matisse Thybulle officially confirmed that he won’t be available to play in road games against the Raptors in the first round of the playoffs because he is not fully vaccinated. Canada requires players to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, but the 76ers forward told reporters he has only gotten one shot of the Pfizer vaccine, per The Athletic’s Rich Hoffman. 

In order to be considered fully vaccinated against the virus in Canada, a players needs to have been administered both shots of a two-dose vaccine or one shot of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Thybulle explained why he is not fully vaccinated. 

“I was raised in a holistic household, where anti-vax is not like a term that was ever used, it’s a weird term that has been kind of thrown around to label people,” he said. “We grew up with Chinese medicine and neuropathic doctors. And just with that upbringing, coming into the situation, I felt like I had a solid foundation of medical resources that could serve me beyond what this vaccine could do more me.”

Thybulle went on to explain that he’s gone back and forth about getting vaccinated, hence only getting one shot. But his mind has been set on this decision for some time. He added that he reached the decision when he discovered that getting vaccinated didn’t guarantee he would be immune from contracting or spreading the virus. 

“It got to the point last year during the playoffs where I did actually consider getting vaccinated and went through with getting the first shot, the first dose, because at that point I was under the impression that getting vaccines would mean I could not get the disease and transmit it to other people,” he said. “And as things progressed, as the virus changes many different ways, it showed through the science that wasn’t the case anymore, that even being vaccinated you could still spread the disease.”

Thybulle averages 25 minutes of action a night and contributes 5.7 points per game, serving as one of Philadelphia’s most valuable defenders. The playoffs are set to start Friday but the schedule has yet to be released.