Kentucky football team has exceeded 85 percent COVID-19 vaccination rate
The University of Kentucky football team has exceeded a COVID-19 vaccination rate of 85 percent, a benchmark presented by the Southeastern Conference last month that the league has since foregone in favor of stricter guidelines aimed at unvaccinated players, according to head coach Mark Stoops.
“We’re past 85 percent. They wanted to do it,” Stoops said Monday during a press conference ahead of Kentucky’s season opener against Louisiana Monroe. “I wasn’t sitting there selling it. I was giving them information, being factual with information and having experts talk about it, things of that nature. Guys want to play. They want to play football.”
When the SEC shared details of its policy last month, UK was among eight teams in the league that did not have a majority of its players vaccinated against COVID-19. Vaccinated players were subject to less testing and, as long as they were asymptomatic, were not subject to strict testing surveillance. At the 85 percent benchmark, all players could forego regular surveillance unless they presented symptoms.
In the month since, the league has put into effect policies that call for all unvaccinated players, coaches and staff to undergo weekly surveillance testing regardless of the team’s overall vaccination rate. Those individuals also must continue to wear masks while using team athletic facilities.
The SEC on Monday announced its forfeiture policy for the 2021 season. If a team in any sport is unable to begin or complete a conference game due to “unavailability of participants” — COVID-19, injuries, etc. — then that team will forfeit the contest and be assigned a loss in the conference standings. The opposing team will be awarded with a win. In the event two teams are unable to participate against one another, both will be assigned a loss in the conference standings.
Commissioner Greg Sankey reserves the right to declare a “no contest” for any event if “extraordinary circumstances warrant,” the league said.
This story was originally published August 30, 2021 at 1:24 PM.
