COVID-19 Concerns for Football Season

Football season is here, but what does that mean with COVID still around? There are concerns about high school and college football games becoming potential super spreaders.

With the COVID vaccine being available for the public, there are still concerns with sporting events causing a super spreader. Football season is a social event that all southerners look forward to each year. COVID caused stands to be empty during games last year, but now people want to know if the vaccine will help fill the stadiums up again.

Since football games are an outdoor event, state health officials are not that concerned with the games being super spreaders. As long as people social distance and un-vaccinated individuals keep their masks on, the games are not seen as a concern for the pandemic. State health officials still recommend people to get vaccinated to minimize disease transmission. State Health Officer, Dr. Scott Harris is actually more concerned about groups of people gathering indoors to watch the games than outdoor gatherings:  “I think, ya know, when ya think about, ya know, college football events those are huge social events in Alabama and so, ya know, there’s hundred thousand people at the game but there’s a million people in each others den and living room watching television and those are really concerning. I think you really see a lot of chance for disease transmission there.”

Dr. Harris highly recommends stadiums continue to follow protocol from last year for the games. He also recommends that people who do not want to social distance, to stay at home.

Alabama still has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the country and the rise of COVID hospitalization among un-vaccinated people continues.