Red Sox Not Being Fully Vaccinated ‘Pains’ Chaim Bloom Amid COVID-19 Outbreak
The Boston Red Sox are dealing with a major COVID-19 outbreak, with eight players and three coaches currently affected.
Chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom revealed Wednesday that the majority of the current positive tests are breakthrough cases — which means the individual is fully vaccinated — but he wishes the percentage of fully vaccinated people in the organization was higher.
“I wish everybody in our organization were vaccinated,” Bloom said before Wednesday’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays. “And for that matter, everyone who was eligible. I’m a strong proponent of vaccination and so is our organization. Every person in this organization that isn’t vaccinated pains me.”
There are six teams in Major League Baseball that have less than 85 percent of players and on-field staff fully vaccinated against the virus. The Red Sox are one of them.
Teams that reach the threshold are allowed to relax protocols both at home and on the road.
Yairo Muñoz became the latest Red Sox player to test positive for the virus. Christian Arroyo, Matt Barnes, Xander Bogaerts, Kiké Hernández, Martín Pérez and Hirokazu Sawamura also have returned positive tests, while Josh Taylor is on the COVID-19 injured list as a close contact.
Coaches Kiyoshi Momose and Ramón Vázquez tested positive, and first base coach Tom Goodwin is a close contact, as well.
Bloom said he doesn’t expect any postponements to their ongoing series against the Rays as a result of the positive cases. The Red Sox are currently scheduled to play Game 3 of a four-game series on Wednesday at 7:10 p.m. ET.
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