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The NBA is reportedly getting rid of its COVID-19 vaccination mandate for the 2022–23 season, per a league memo obtained by Yahoo Sports on Tuesday.
Although the mandate will not be in place, the league will still strongly suggest all players and personnel be fully vaccinated and up to date with any federal or state guidelines. Additionally, the NBPA is continuing discussions about testing unvaccinated players and personnel every so often.
The NBA began its personnel vaccine mandate back in August 2021 following the FDA’s approval of the Pfizer vaccine. The league became less strict about the mandate as the 2021–22 season went on, but players and personnel were still expected to follow the specific national and state guidelines.
New York specifically made headlines last season since it didn’t lift its vaccine mandate for players and personnel until March 2022. This caused unvaccinated Nets star Kyrie Irving to not play in his home arena in Brooklyn until NYC mayor Eric Adams lifted the mandate.
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At the time of New York’s announcement, the NBA released a statement regarding how many staff members were vaccinated and/or boosted.
“The NBA and NBPA have achieved a 97% vaccination and 75% booster rate among players, required both for league staff, team staff, and referees, and will continue to be strong advocates for vaccination and boosters,” the league wrote.
The issue still stands for opponents of the Raptors since Canada does not allow unvaccinated players to enter the country. It’s unclear at this time how the NBA not having a vaccine mandate will impact unvaccinated players traveling to Toronto.
