In a memo sent to NFL teams on Friday, the NFL announced a new agreement with the NFLPA to no longer test for COVID-19 among any asymptomatic players, including unvaccinated players. Previously, unvaccinated players were subject to daily testing.
The move comes in the middle of the Omicron variant surge, which has shown an ability to bypass immunization and infect vaccinated and unvaccinated players, alike. This is another example of the NFL’s COVID-19 policy evolving as the pandemic changes.
Any symptomatic player will still need to complete testing.
The NFL reports nearly 95% of the league’s players are fully vaccinated, and with only a quarter of the league’s teams remaining on the field, the list of unvaccinated players is roughly a dozen names.