In contrast to their vocal support for issues like Black Lives Matter, some of the NBA’s biggest stars are reluctant to engage in public campaigns designed to promote vaccination against Covid-19, according to reports.
ESPN cites sources as saying that many elite basketball stars are apprehensive about adding their names to league-sponsored public service campaigns to promote the safety and efficacy of vaccination against a virus that has claimed nearly half a million lives in the United States.
According to the report by the popular sports media in the United States, factors involved in reservations among some players include uncertainty about how to get the shot and reluctance to help the NBA amid criticism of this year’s plans for an All- Star.
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The apparent hesitation comes despite the NBA working to educate teams about the vaccine’s effectiveness, as well as public service announcements already being made with basketball icon Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich.
Reports from the United States show that black Americans were vaccinated at significantly lower rates than those of the white population, for reasons that include accessibility and health disparities, but also higher levels of distrust among the black community.
Some believe that the more visible and vocal public support of NBA stars – where the vast majority of players are African-American – could help solve this problem.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said earlier that “in the African American community, there was an extremely disparate impact from Covid … but now, somewhat perversely, there has been enormous resistance [to vaccinations] in the African American community for understandable historical reasons. “
“If this resistance continues, it would be a double blow to the black community, because the only way out of this pandemic is to get vaccinated.”
The apparent reluctance of big names in the NBA to go public with the promotion of vaccines comes in contrast to their vocal activism on issues like Black Lives Matter.
In December, the biggest name in basketball today, LeBron James, of the LA Lakers, was urged by the surgeon general of the United States, Jerome Adams, to publicly take the Pfizer anti-Covid vaccine because “we want to make sure that people understand that this is how we end the pandemic. “
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NBA chief Silver said this week the league would not “Skip the line” ahead of the general public for players to get vaccinated, but added that the stars can start receiving doses from the end of March.
The latest reports state that more than 57 million doses of the vaccine have been administered in the United States, reaching just over 12 percent of the population.