Biden May Utilize League’s Stadiums For Vaccination

President Joe Biden has accepted the National Football League’s offer to make its 30 stadiums available as COVID-19 vaccination sites.

He was responding to the news of NFL’s offer to utilize the stadiums during an interview on CBS’ Super Bowl pregame show.

Asked whether he would take the offer, Biden replied, “Absolutely we will.” “And, I mean, let me put it this way—I tell my team they’re available and I believe we’ll use them. Look, it was one thing if we had enough vaccine, which we didn’t. So we’re pushing as hard as we can to get more vaccine manufactured,” he added.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell had extended an offer last week to the President to utilize all 30 league stadiums to distribute COVID-19 vaccines in addition to the seven facilities already administering the vaccine.

In the letter he sent Friday, Goodell said many of the stadiums should be able to get vaccination efforts moving quickly because of the previous offers to use stadiums as virus testing centers and election sites.

The seven clubs already using their stadiums as vaccine sites are the Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens, Carolina Panthers, Houston Texans, Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots.

The top NFL executive made the offer while inviting Biden to Sunday’s Super Bowl Big Game. The National Football League extended the invitation also to 7,500 vaccinated health care workers from across the country in gratitude for their heroic service.

“Our efforts will not stop there. The NFL and our 32 member clubs are committed to doing our part to ensure that vaccines are as widely accessible in our communities as possible. To that end, each NFL team will make its stadium available for mass vaccinations of the general public in coordination with local, state, and federal health officials,” Goodell said in the letter.

It cited that many NFL clubs have offered their facilities previously as COVID testing centers as well as election sites over the past several months.

When the discussion turned to football, Biden told CBS News anchor Norah O’Donnell, “I had wild dreams. It wasn’t to be president. I thought I could be a flanker back in the NFL.” Biden was a football player in his youth.

It was his first network interview since taking office. Biden said it’s time for schools to reopen safely. He added that roughly 20 million kids not being able to attend school this year “is a national emergency.”

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