Atlanta Falcons say they're first NFL team to be 100% vaccinated against COVID
The Atlanta Falcons have become the first and only NFL team to have a 100% COVID-19 vaccination rate among players, the team announced Monday, weeks before the start of the regular season.
The team had reached a 92% vaccination rate on July 23 and now, every player on the team is inoculated against the virus.
"Each player will now enjoy the benefits of being able to work out and eat together," the team's website said. "They won't have to test daily, won't have to wear masks around the facility and won't have to quarantine following a close contact with someone who tests positive."
👏👏👏 @AtlantaFalcons pic.twitter.com/Td0XtpscIx
— NFL (@NFL) August 16, 2021
The Falcons' milestone comes nearly a month after the NFL warned teams in a memo that COVID outbreaks among unvaccinated players could cause games to be canceled. Commissioner Roger Goodell said games would no longer be rescheduled and teams responsible for the cancelation would receive a loss on their record and players on both teams would not be paid. The league said it expects all players to get their shots by the time the season kicks off on September 9.
Since then, all 32 NFL teams have a vaccination rate above 75%, including 15 teams that have a rate over 95%, according to ESPN.
While the rest of the NFL works toward a 100% vaccination rate, the WNBA reached a milestone of 99% vaccination rate among its players – the most of any major U.S. sports league. Major League Baseball announced that 23 of their teams had reached the 85 percent vaccinated threshold in June, but teams have struggled with outbreaks.