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Anyone notice no player positive Covid tests? (1 Viewer)

-OZ- said:
Didn’t they stop testing asymptomatic players?
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The league announced changes to its COVID protocols, the most noteworthy of which will see vaccinated players subject only to occasional spot-testing unless symptomatic. Non-vaccinated players will continue to test daily, but the change will cut down significantly on the number of tests, and effectively allow for some vaccinated players to play if asymptomatic, even if they have COVID.
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NFL changes COVID testing protocols for vaccinated players (nypost.com)

 
I feel like the NFL may have a certain amount of herd immunity helping this.  There was the 2 week period where Omicron was running rampant through the teams.  Enough people probably got it to where there's nowhere else for the virus to spread at this point.

It's not just lack of testing, because not everyone who got it would be asymptomatic.  You'd see some people getting sick.

 
Scoresman said:
I feel like the NFL may have a certain amount of herd immunity helping this.  There was the 2 week period where Omicron was running rampant through the teams.  Enough people probably got it to where there's nowhere else for the virus to spread at this point.

It's not just lack of testing, because not everyone who got it would be asymptomatic.  You'd see some people getting sick.
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I think you're bang on with this.  And also the testing rules obviously changes this.

Not to turn this into a covid thread, but omicron's symptoms are typically less than other variants.... so at this point, if a player who is in a playoff game has the tiniest sore throat, do you really think he's going to mention it to anyone?  

 
Scoresman said:
I feel like the NFL may have a certain amount of herd immunity helping this.  There was the 2 week period where Omicron was running rampant through the teams.  Enough people probably got it to where there's nowhere else for the virus to spread at this point.

It's not just lack of testing, because not everyone who got it would be asymptomatic.  You'd see some people getting sick.
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Yeah it’s a mix of not testing daily and the fact that due to the nature of the sport, they all have probably been exposed to all the variants at this point. It’s a good sign for the rest of the country moving forward. Obviously these are the most healthy individuals in society but you have to start somewhere. 

 
styleride85 said:
I think you're bang on with this.  And also the testing rules obviously changes this.

Not to turn this into a covid thread, but omicron's symptoms are typically less than other variants.... so at this point, if a player who is in a playoff game has the tiniest sore throat, do you really think he's going to mention it to anyone?  
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Definitely think this is playing a role.

I would also imagine that part of it may be that even pre-Covid, players probably locked it down a little more in the playoffs, and you know coaches are drumming it into their heads every day not to jeopardize the team's playoff chances by pulling a Dwayne Haskins and going unmasked at a strip club or something dumb like that.

 
styleride85 said:
Not to turn this into a covid thread, but omicron's symptoms are typically less than other variants....
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*for vaccinated people. 

Hospitals are currently flooded with unvaccinated people suffering with serious Omicron symptoms. People are still dying from COVID. 2,143 Americans died from COVID on Jan 6th, 2022 (last date shown on the chart) and we’re nearing 1M deaths in the USA.

Like you, I’m not keen on turning this into a COVID thread, but it’s important to make this distinction when talking about severity of the much faster spreading variant.

Omicron variant is reportedly milder than other variants, but still a very dangerous illness, causing severe respiratory issues, blood clots, etc to a huge population of unvaccinated people. They’re also saying it increases the chance of diabetes in children by as much as 30%.

The vaccinated population is reportedly 99.7% less likely to experience these severe symptoms. To most it’s like a bad cold that lasts way too long. My buddy in WA is spending his birthday coughing & sneezing & feeling like general poop today, and he’s going on his 10th day. He’s double vaxxed & boosted, so he’s unlikely to need hospitalization, but he’s not having fun either. 

I believe we’re not hearing more about the NFL because they’ve ceased testing asymptomatic players, as has been mentioned. And since most are vaccinated, it shouldn’t be an issue unless there’s some genetic predisposition to complicate matters. 
👍🏼

 
ignatiusjreilly said:
and you know coaches are drumming it into their heads every day not to jeopardize the team's playoff chances by pulling a Dwayne Haskins and going unmasked at a strip club or something dumb like that.
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one can hope. But then there always seem to be the AB types, sneaking chicks into hotels and such. 

 
Hot Sauce Guy said:
one can hope. But then there always seem to be the AB types, sneaking chicks into hotels and such. 
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Oh I'm sure it's happening. But assuming the drop in cases is due to a combination of different factors, if fewer players are going out, there are less opportunities to get infected. Heck, even sneaking a girl into your hotel room is better than going out to a club full of strangers.

By the way, Pro Football Doc pointed out on his podcast this week that, as far as we know, Josh Allen is still unvaccinated and has never had Covid. That means he's still getting tested every day, and he can't rely on an asymptomatic case or self-reported symptoms to protect him. I hope it doesn't happen -- the playoffs would be less fun without him -- but something to keep an eye on. 

 
One other point about ask the infections from this fall: it’s not just that they get the league closer to herd immunity in the abstract. Every player, vaxxed or not, who tested positive in the last 90 days is not subject to any testing. That means guys like Rodgers, Kelce or Hill have zero chance of missing any games in the playoffs (well, maybe Rodgers if they make the Super Bowl, since he tested positive on Nov. 2. But obviously highly unlikely).

 
-OZ- said:
Didn’t they stop testing asymptomatic players?
Click to expand...
Yes, that was apparently the big win that the NFLPA won when the league moved the Raiders vs Browns game. Apparently that was a big thing that the NFLPA wanted. 

I think that and that Omicron basically has rampaged through the population (for example, my kids school saw a huge spike of cases at heading into the end of Dec and then a huge decline the last couple of weeks) explains the drop. 

 
ignatiusjreilly said:
Oh I'm sure it's happening. But assuming the drop in cases is due to a combination of different factors, if fewer players are going out, there are less opportunities to get infected. Heck, even sneaking a girl into your hotel room is better than going out to a club full of strangers.

By the way, Pro Football Doc pointed out on his podcast this week that, as far as we know, Josh Allen is still unvaccinated and has never had Covid. That means he's still getting tested every day, and he can't rely on an asymptomatic case or self-reported symptoms to protect him. I hope it doesn't happen -- the playoffs would be less fun without him -- but something to keep an eye on. 
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I believe Josh Allen did get jabbed in late August, shortly before the start of the season.

I expect that very few players have got a booster shot, since they would not want to risk getting symptoms late in the season (or now).  Plus for guys that did wait until late summer, they are not eligible for a booster yet.  But also, their immunity has not dropped as much as somebody who got jabbed last April.

 
Chadstroma said:
Yes, that was apparently the big win that the NFLPA won when the league moved the Raiders vs Browns game. Apparently that was a big thing that the NFLPA wanted. 

I think that and that Omicron basically has rampaged through the population (for example, my kids school saw a huge spike of cases at heading into the end of Dec and then a huge decline the last couple of weeks) explains the drop. 
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Right. We’ve seen the rates of infection spike but in general the healthier people experience little impact. To the point where some are seeing more people test positive after going to the hospital for other, non COVID issues. 
So it would make sense that the healthy athletes don’t have the symptoms even if they would test positive if they tested. 

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I was in the ER on New Years Eve. My nephew, who was visiting, did a sort of (basically took too much Tylenol). The lobby had a quite a few people in the waiting area and there was a constant stream of ambulances coming through (I had never been to this hospital so I have no idea if the activity was more or less or about the same as normal) but it did seem busy. They test everyone and indeed my nephew tested positive. I asked for a test and they said since I was not admitted they couldn't do it but the nurse shrugged it off, she didn't ask if I was vaccinated or not and just said "You will get it and it is like a mild flu for almost everyone." and then went on her way. 

I also question the COVID mortality information. For example, if my nephew has passed away because he took a lethal dose of drugs, he would have still be counted as a COVID mortality because he happened to test positive. The biggest issue, I think, through this whole thing is the horrible communication that had bread more issues and a lack of trust. 

Before I get attacked- I am vaccinated, I think people should get vaccinated (I typically get flu shots every year too) but I think there are some significant issues with many things COVID related. I don't discuss it because it gets so political and so irrational (from different views) so quickly when it is brought up. If you want to @ me with whatever, go ahead, but I ain't gonna get baited. 

BTW: My kids got it (second time around actually), then my family from out of state and then my wife and I. My kids basically symptom wise was like mild allergies kind of level of sick (10, 8 and 6 unvaccinated). My sister was like an average flu sick (50 vaccinated). My nieces and nephew got it and they were about mild flu level sick (18, 16 and 15- the older girls vaccinated and my nephew unvaccinated). For me, it was about a mild flu or cold. My wife got hit harder and we did take her to ER (another hospital wasn't very busy, they saw her right away and she was out the same day after testing) because she has breathing issues to begin with and her oxygen levels went down to starting to be concerned levels, so her father (a Doctor) told her to go. 

 
-OZ- said:
Right. We’ve seen the rates of infection spike but in general the healthier people experience little impact. To the point where some are seeing more people test positive after going to the hospital for other, non COVID issues. 
So it would make sense that the healthy athletes don’t have the symptoms even if they would test positive if they tested. 
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Yup, experienced that personally (see my other post)

 
themeistersinger said:
I believe Josh Allen did get jabbed in late August, shortly before the start of the season.
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Are you sure about that? Not a Bills homer and I haven't followed the story all that closely, but a quick Google search shows articles from November saying his status was still unknown. (To be fair, his statements back in the summer were far more ambiguous than I had remembered. He basically said something to the effect of he was going to research it and decide what made sense, and then doesn't seem to have talked about it since. So it's entirely possible that you're right and he's been vaxxed all season.)

 
This topic jinxed me. My phone says I’m a close contact & I should quarantine.

I don’t go anywhere without a mask, and don’t spend enough time around anyone to contract COVID.

We’ll see what happens. I think I’m ok. 

 
Hot Sauce Guy said:
No testing = no reporting. :shrug:  
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Except testing is not fully eliminated, no change ever occurred in testing protocols for un-vaccinated players,  and the new protocols for testing vaccinated players went into place on Dec 18th and we still saw a surge in positive cases. Again a lot of factors should make the COVID cases far less, just hard to grasp we went to zero so quickly.

 
menobrown said:
Again a lot of factors should make the COVID cases far less, just hard to grasp we went to zero so quickly.
Click to expand...


not to get all tinfoil hat, but 

1. I am a disbeliever in the honesty of the NFL & NFLPA

2. I am a huge believer that playoff football is a billion dollar industry when all the surrounding / dependent / supporting industries are involved. 

so my conspiracy side says they just aren’t reporting anything now. 

 
Chadstroma said:
I was in the ER on New Years Eve. My nephew, who was visiting, did a sort of (basically took too much Tylenol). The lobby had a quite a few people in the waiting area and there was a constant stream of ambulances coming through (I had never been to this hospital so I have no idea if the activity was more or less or about the same as normal) but it did seem busy. They test everyone and indeed my nephew tested positive. I asked for a test and they said since I was not admitted they couldn't do it but the nurse shrugged it off, she didn't ask if I was vaccinated or not and just said "You will get it and it is like a mild flu for almost everyone." and then went on her way. 

I also question the COVID mortality information. For example, if my nephew has passed away because he took a lethal dose of drugs, he would have still be counted as a COVID mortality because he happened to test positive. The biggest issue, I think, through this whole thing is the horrible communication that had bread more issues and a lack of trust. 

Before I get attacked- I am vaccinated, I think people should get vaccinated (I typically get flu shots every year too) but I think there are some significant issues with many things COVID related. I don't discuss it because it gets so political and so irrational (from different views) so quickly when it is brought up. If you want to @ me with whatever, go ahead, but I ain't gonna get baited. 

BTW: My kids got it (second time around actually), then my family from out of state and then my wife and I. My kids basically symptom wise was like mild allergies kind of level of sick (10, 8 and 6 unvaccinated). My sister was like an average flu sick (50 vaccinated). My nieces and nephew got it and they were about mild flu level sick (18, 16 and 15- the older girls vaccinated and my nephew unvaccinated). For me, it was about a mild flu or cold. My wife got hit harder and we did take her to ER (another hospital wasn't very busy, they saw her right away and she was out the same day after testing) because she has breathing issues to begin with and her oxygen levels went down to starting to be concerned levels, so her father (a Doctor) told her to go. 
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Glad you and your family are ok GB

 
Chadstroma said:
I was in the ER on New Years Eve. My nephew, who was visiting, did a sort of (basically took too much Tylenol). The lobby had a quite a few people in the waiting area and there was a constant stream of ambulances coming through (I had never been to this hospital so I have no idea if the activity was more or less or about the same as normal) but it did seem busy. They test everyone and indeed my nephew tested positive. I asked for a test and they said since I was not admitted they couldn't do it but the nurse shrugged it off, she didn't ask if I was vaccinated or not and just said "You will get it and it is like a mild flu for almost everyone." and then went on her way. 

I also question the COVID mortality information. For example, if my nephew has passed away because he took a lethal dose of drugs, he would have still be counted as a COVID mortality because he happened to test positive. The biggest issue, I think, through this whole thing is the horrible communication that had bread more issues and a lack of trust. 

Before I get attacked- I am vaccinated, I think people should get vaccinated (I typically get flu shots every year too) but I think there are some significant issues with many things COVID related. I don't discuss it because it gets so political and so irrational (from different views) so quickly when it is brought up. If you want to @ me with whatever, go ahead, but I ain't gonna get baited. 

BTW: My kids got it (second time around actually), then my family from out of state and then my wife and I. My kids basically symptom wise was like mild allergies kind of level of sick (10, 8 and 6 unvaccinated). My sister was like an average flu sick (50 vaccinated). My nieces and nephew got it and they were about mild flu level sick (18, 16 and 15- the older girls vaccinated and my nephew unvaccinated). For me, it was about a mild flu or cold. My wife got hit harder and we did take her to ER (another hospital wasn't very busy, they saw her right away and she was out the same day after testing) because she has breathing issues to begin with and her oxygen levels went down to starting to be concerned levels, so her father (a Doctor) told her to go. 
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There is an entire co-vid thread to discuss this stuff.  Not sure what the above has to do with this topic at all.

 
styleride85 said:
There is an entire co-vid thread to discuss this stuff.  Not sure what the above has to do with this topic at all.
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It was a reply to another post but then I edited it and canceled the reply because I didn't want it to look like an attack or whatever.... in that it lost much if the relevance byt your reply is valid.

 
One of the guys on Buffalo’s practice squad tested positive this week. He was called up on the active roster this past week.

 
ignatiusjreilly said:
Are you sure about that? Not a Bills homer and I haven't followed the story all that closely, but a quick Google search shows articles from November saying his status was still unknown. (To be fair, his statements back in the summer were far more ambiguous than I had remembered. He basically said something to the effect of he was going to research it and decide what made sense, and then doesn't seem to have talked about it since. So it's entirely possible that you're right and he's been vaxxed all season.)
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If he’s not vaccinated, then he’s not following NFL protocols by being masked during press conferences.

After the Aaron Rodgers thing, it seems unlikely that the league/teams would allow anyone else to brazenly break protocols by being unvaccinated and unmasked at press conferences.

So it’s possible he is unvaccinated and breaking the rules, but that seems unlikely.

 
ignatiusjreilly said:
Are you sure about that? Not a Bills homer and I haven't followed the story all that closely, but a quick Google search shows articles from November saying his status was still unknown. (To be fair, his statements back in the summer were far more ambiguous than I had remembered. He basically said something to the effect of he was going to research it and decide what made sense, and then doesn't seem to have talked about it since. So it's entirely possible that you're right and he's been vaxxed all season.)
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I saw something to that effect when Beasley and Davis were out with Covid, that Josh Allen had quietly gotten the vax in August. Don't remember where I saw it though.

 
In just a few weeks, Omicron went from barely registering to the dominant strain by far. And it's much, much milder for the vast majority of people. 

Early in the pandemic, people erroneously said it was like the flu. Now, nearly 900,000 American deaths later, the virus has mutated into something kind of like the flu. So it makes sense to adjust the protocols.*

* This might be me not wanting to admit that the NFL refuses to ruin its playoff ratings and matchups over something silly like testing positive for a virus. 

 
Neil Beaufort Zod said:
In just a few weeks, Omicron went from barely registering to the dominant strain by far. And it's much, much milder for the vast majority of people. 

Early in the pandemic, people erroneously said it was like the flu. Now, nearly 900,000 American deaths later, the virus has mutated into something kind of like the flu. So it makes sense to adjust the protocols.*
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*for the vaccinated.

again, some ~2K Americans a day are dying of COVID. 99.7% of them unvaccinated.

Most concerning, pediatric cases / hospitalizations are higher than they’ve ever been.

Milder is good. Faster spreading means more will get it. Since math is undefeated, that also means more severe cases along with a huge population of mild ones.

As it relates to this topic / the NFL, if most players are vaccinated, which I’ve read is the case, then it shouldn’t be a big concern for them.  That said, I still think they were dumb to go to this new protocol allowing it to spread virtually unchecked.  It reeks of greed. But again, so long as everyone is vaxxed, probably not a huge problem for players. The problem is if one of them spreads it to someone who spreads it to someone who isn’t vaxxed, or is immunocompromised. Then there’s real harm in the policy. 

But hey, NFL gonna NFL. 

 
Hot Sauce Guy said:
not to get all tinfoil hat but 

1. I am a disbeliever in the honesty of the NFL & NFLPA

2. I am a huge believer that playoff football is a billion dollar industry when all the surrounding / dependent / supporting industries are involved. 

so my conspiracy side says they just aren’t reporting anything now. 
Click to expand...
I too am a huge believer that you should never underestimate the cynicism of the NFL. Still, I wonder how far they could actually push it. Tweak the protocols so that there are less likely to be positive tests? Sure. Actively bury any reports of positive tests? That would be pretty tough to pull off.

So the fact that there have been no reports of positive tests lately probably does mean that there have been no positive tests lately. But it certainly doesn't mean there have been no cases during that time. I suspect they've just gotten better at looking the other way and maintaining plausible deniability.

 
No one loves making money more than the NFL...right now there is no covid and cocaine, steroids and prostitutes are all legal until the Super Bowl is over.

 
ignatiusjreilly said:
I too am a huge believer that you should never underestimate the cynicism of the NFL. Still, I wonder how far they could actually push it. Tweak the protocols so that there are less likely to be positive tests? Sure. Actively bury any reports of positive tests? That would be pretty tough to pull off.

So the fact that there have been no reports of positive tests lately probably does mean that there have been no positive tests lately. But it certainly doesn't mean there have been no cases during that time. I suspect they've just gotten better at looking the other way and maintaining plausible deniability.
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This. 

And all you’d really need to pull it off is 

1. a league sufficiently motivated to let the show go on.

2. A team sufficiently motivated to get a player on the field for a critical game

3. a player sufficiently motivated to play (paycheck, glory, Lombardi trophy, etc)

it’s not really hard to believe any / all of these 3 are happening.

But that’s none of my business. 
 

KermitSipsTea.gif

 
ignatiusjreilly said:
Oh I'm sure it's happening. But assuming the drop in cases is due to a combination of different factors, if fewer players are going out, there are less opportunities to get infected. Heck, even sneaking a girl into your hotel room is better than going out to a club full of strangers.

By the way, Pro Football Doc pointed out on his podcast this week that, as far as we know, Josh Allen is still unvaccinated and has never had Covid. That means he's still getting tested every day, and he can't rely on an asymptomatic case or self-reported symptoms to protect him. I hope it doesn't happen -- the playoffs would be less fun without him -- but something to keep an eye on. 
Click to expand...
Josh never said if vaxxed or not for the season

but if not, could have survived covid in the off season and now has better protection than if jabbed

 
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