NBA Updates COVID-19 Protocols for Vaccinated Players & Staff

The NBA has released new COVID-19 Health and Safety Protocols for fully-vaccinated players and staff members

A post-COVID-19 world appears to be on the horizon for NBA players and staff.

The NBA announced new Health and Safety protocols for anyone fully-vaccinated from COVID-19 on Thursday morning. The new protocols will allow players and staff to return to something resembling normalcy two weeks after their second COVID-19 vaccine.

Fully-vaccinated individuals will not have to quarantine following a COVID-19 exposure, may see family and friends at home or on the road, will not have to do daily COVID-19 testing, can take part in in-person marketing events, dine outdoor at restaurants, and can have a personal trainer or therapist work with them at home without being tested, the league announced.

The league has also announced new protocols for any team in which 85% of players and staff are fully vaccinated. No masks will be required at practice, fully-vaccinated individuals have more flexibility to leave the team hotel, meals can be served on team flights, indoor and outdoor dining will be permissible, PCR testing can be conducted prior to 5 p.m., and fully-vaccinated individuals can meet in person in locations other than the court or in hotel ballrooms.

Some NBA players have already begun being vaccinated including a handful of players on the New Orleans Pelicans where vaccines have been made available to anyone with a body mass index of 25 or more in Louisiana. That includes players such as Jaxon Hayes and Nicola Meli who both said they received their first COVID-19 vaccine shot earlier this week.

Florida is currently only vaccinating people over 60 years old, those considered extremely vulnerable, health care workers, as well as school teachers, law enforcement officers, and firefighters over the age of 50. That would likely preclude any players on the Toronto Raptors, though staff members within the organization do fit into that demographic.

Further Reading

A Canadian's guide to March Madness

The Cleveland Cavaliers reportedly asked for Norman Powell in Andre Drummond trade talks

Who says no to this trade sending Kyle Lowry to the Philadelphia 76ers?