COVID Return: Shanahan Confirms Five 49ers Not Vaccinated; Team Won't Force Them To Get Shots
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Five players on the San Francisco 49ers have not been vaccinated for COVID-19, coach Kyle Shanahan announced at a press conference Friday.
Shanahan didn't name the players but some of them have already admitted publicly that they have not been vaccinated, namely Nick Bosa, Jason Verrett and Brandon Aiyuk.
"I'm still working through the vaccine situation. Still working towards that," Aiyuk said at Friday's press conference while still wearing a mask.
During his time on the podium, Bosa also said something similar.
Shanahan also noted that he and the rest of the team's administration will not force these last five players to receive vaccinations. The announcement came as the delta variant continued to surge across the country -- in San Francisco alone, the city saw an average of 176 new COVID cases a week, which is ten times the average from early June.
COVID-19 severely affected the team's 2020 season, with several star players placed on the COVID/Reserve list at different times. Before the 49ers played the Green Bay Packers that season, the team saw Aiyuk, OL Trent Williams and fellow WR Kendrick Bourne were all placed on the list, despite Bourne's test was later found to be a false positive. The team took the field with all backup receivers and lost to the Packers 34-17.
READ MORE: 49ers Offensive Line Coach Tests Positive COVID; Sidelined For Sunday's Game
Despite not requiring vaccinations, the 49ers have been supportive of COVID vaccinations, even allowing the county to use Levi's Stadium for vaccination events.
One player, star linebacker Fred Warner, said last week he was vaccinated and that while players can make their own decisions on vaccinations, "I'm a person that guys can come to to ask questions about it or voice their concerns. That's all I'm trying to be -- a tool for people to use, a resource if somebody has a question they want to ask me."
