Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list Monday along with fellow passers Kellen Mond and Nate Stanley. As a result the team is entering the second week of training camp with only one quarterback to practice with, Jake Browning — who head coach Mike Zimmer made a point of saying is fully vaccinated.
Zimmer, in a refreshing change of pace from most coaches around the league, wasn’t afraid to confront the vaccination issue head on. It comes after it was revealed that Cousins was unvaccinated prior to his exposure. In his daily press conference Monday Zimmer made it clear that some of his players not getting the shot was frustrating.
"We could put this thing to bed if we'd all do this, but it is what it is." - Coach Zimmer pic.twitter.com/nL8PmUZeM1
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) August 2, 2021
Zimmer went on to explain that players have access to resources from NFL Chief Medical Officer Dr. Allen Stills, but still choose to believe internet conspiracy theories, via @Matthew Coller on Twitter:
“Some of them just won’t do it… some of the things they read are out there. It’s their belief, so whatever they’ve heard or read or been told… maybe they don’t believe what Dr Sills told them either”
While it remains possible to contract Covid-19 even after vaccination, numerous studies, including one from the New England Journal of Medicine cites that vaccination is extremely successful at stopping symptomatic spread of the virus, even the current delta variant. In addition, 99.999% of vaccinated individuals have not experienced a deadly case of Covid-19, according to the CDC.
So, by choosing not to get vaccinated Kirk Cousins did the following:
- Made it more likely his teammates would contract the virus.
- Put his personal health and wellbeing at risk.
- Disrupted training camp for the Vikings.
Kudos to Mike Zimmer for trying to be a voice of reason in an unreasonable situation. Hope believing crackpots on Facebook was worth it, Kirk.