Baseball – MLB – Coronavirus

Eight members of the New York Yankees, including one player, tested positive for Covid-19 while they were all vaccinated. A situation that should raise questions in MLB and other leagues. Eight members of the New York Yankees team tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday, the baseball franchise announced. Only one of these cases concerns a player, Gleyber Torres. But what questions MLB – and arguably the other leagues – is that all of these team members were vaccinated at least two weeks ago (the time it normally takes to develop immunity). This workforce epidemic is being closely studied by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Yankees said. Torres even tested positive for coronavirus for the first time in December. The Yankees explained that they were vaccinated by Janssen. This vaccine requires only one dose but has a priori lower efficacy (around 70% protection) than those marketed by Pfizer or Moderna (95%). In addition to Torres, pitching coach Matt Blake, third bases coach Phil Nevin, first bases coach Reggie Willits and four Yankees touring staff have tested positive in recent days. All of them are observing a quarantine in Tampa, Florida, while the MLB, its medical experts and New York State Department of Health officials advise and assist the Yankees. Less Strict Rules This hotbed of cases within a team comes as MLB has allowed franchises with more than 85% of members vaccinated to be subject to less strict rules on dating, social distancing and wearing a mask. Other leagues, such as the NFL (US football), were also studying the possibility of offering relaxed restrictions to teams considered to be vaccinated (again with a threshold of 85%). This “cluster” may call their thinking into question. read also All baseball news