No matter which stance you take on COVID, I think it’s safe to say that the conversation has changed quite a bit these past two years, as more and more information is uncovered.
Remember when we were wiping down our groceries? After a while, the science revealed that we no longer have to do that, as COVID-19, an airborne virus, doesn’t live on surfaces.
However, with COVID mutating into several different variants that affect you in different ways, and the virus still spreading among vaccinated people, it’s extremely difficult to completely eliminate the spread.
This new Omicron variant has taken the sports world by storm, and in the past month or so several teams, in different leagues across the world, have been dealing with the uptick in positive tests.
With that being said, in order to keep the college basketball season in-tact, and other college athletics in general, the NCAA has released some new COVID guidelines via their website.
The new “2022 Winter Training and Competition” document gives NCAA athletes a new meaning of “fully vaccinated.”
Before, “fully vaccinated” meant all the athletes who’ve received all the doses of the COVID vaccines.
But now, it means this:
– Within two months of having completed the primary series of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine (one dose).
– Within five months of having completed the primary series of the mRNA Pfizer vaccine, or within six months of having completed the primary series of the mRNA Moderna vaccine (two doses for both).
– Who have received a booster vaccine if they are beyond two months of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine or beyond five or six months of the mRNA Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, respectively.
But the big kicker is that a person who has had COVID in the past 90 days is now considered “fully vaccinated.”
The NCAA suggests that players quarantine for five days after a positive test, with isolation ending if the player is not feeling any symptoms.
The new guidelines also state that a player does not need to quarantine if they’ve been in close contact with somebody who has contracted the virus, as long as they are vaccinated or have had COVID in the past 90 days.
NCAA Chief Medical Officer Brian Hainline says:
“The omicron variant has presented another surge of cases across the country. This guidance was designed to align with the latest public health directives.
Given how the pandemic continues to evolve, it’s important that staff on member campuses continue to work with their local and state health officials on protocols most suitable for their locations.”
This should definitely help limit the number of athletes who have to sit out games due to COVID concerns, and should help limit the amount of game cancelations or reschedules.
