General manager John Lynch informed reporters today that the San Francisco 49ers are among the teams that have surpassed the 85 percent vaccination threshold for players. The team has had a 100 percent vaccination rate among its Tier 1 and Tier 2 staff for a while now.
"Originally, everybody kind of had that goal on 85 percent, and I'm proud to say that we're up over 90 percent," Lynch said. "It really speaks to our players. We didn't enforce anything. What we tried to do is just communicate with our guys and rely on the professionals to educate them as much as possible. Our guys really arrived at this individually and as a team, and we're proud of them for that."
With the vast majority of players vaccinated, the 49ers are unlikely to have to worry about training camp, preseason, and regular season COVID restrictions imposed by the NFL in 2021. However, unvaccinated players will still be restricted. They will need to wear masks, observe social distancing, undergo regular COVID testing, be banned from dining with teammates, and face other restrictions.
The NFL recently informed teams that it would not extend the 18-week season to accommodate a COVID outbreak among unvaccinated players, as was needed last season for multiple matchups. Should there be an outbreak, the impacted club or clubs could be forced to forfeit, accruing a loss, and not being paid for any missed games. A team with an outbreak could also be responsible for financially compensating an opponent for any expenses resulting from the lost game.
The 49ers reported to training camp today and will conduct their first practice — in front of fans — tomorrow morning. Fans will return to Levi's Stadium for games for the first time since the NFC Championship Game in January of 2020.