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the recent spike in covid cases in the U. S is starting to impact professional sports leagues across the country. The NHL and NBA have recently been forced to postpone games, and the NFL teams have been looking to fill roster spots for players infected with the virus. Well, now the NFL will require certain employees to obtain COVID-19 vaccine boosters and here to discuss how all of this could impact the future of sports. Uh, is the chair of the Covid Sports and Society work group and a former vice president of the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves. Dr. Robbie Sick, a doctor. Thanks so much for coming on the show. What is your reaction to the rising cases that we see in these leagues and how the leagues have been responding? Well, I think the leagues have done a great job of handling the outbreaks thus far. You know, the first reaction is obviously going to be testing and increasing our testing cadence, and I think the leagues have done a really good job of trying to identify these cases and recognizing the public health burden that having a lot of positive cases, uh, represents the most important thing to remember, though, is that sports has probably vaccinated way more than the general population. We're talking about 97% in some of these sports leagues, up to 99% in some of the leaks. And so you are going to see less severe illness with this group, and I think that that's a flag and it's a it's a reminder of people to get vaccinated, Huh? Some requirement of booster shots. What impact do you expect that will have? I think that that's going to help to reduce transmission. What we're seeing right now is really a reflection that sports tests more than anybody. So they're going to pick up cases more than other populations. And boosters, particularly in staff and other high risk individuals, are likely to significantly reduce transmission and the risk to players. So I think that bolstering as many people as possible for the league's is definitely of interest and a strong priority. We've seen different leagues take different approaches, of course, when they've seen a covid outbreak in their particular sport, the NFL obviously and um, others taking different approaches, the NBA and NHL actually postponing games the NFL has not, is there a right or a wrong way, doctor that you would be handling this. You know, I don't think there's a right or wrong way. I think the most important thing is that we're reacting and responding to what the community needs are. And for right now, you know, I think the hope is that we can continue on with sports because sports has really given people a nice reprieve from the pandemic. Uh, and I think sports has taught us a lot about how the virus spreads. The hope is that we can continue on and not have to cancel games, and I'm sure the NFL would really like that. And I'm sure the NBA would like that, too. We're just seeing a lot of transmission, and the most important thing to remember is that sports really has predicted outbreaks and considerations with the virus since the very beginning. The Rudy go barons And it was one of the first things that led us to really understand covid as the country. So it doesn't surprise me now that sports is leading the way yet again. How do you see covid impacting sports leagues as this so macron variant spreads any renewed or new risks. I think there's certainly risks that this is a different pandemic than early 2020. We're seeing now that this is a more contagious variant, just like Delta and so more people are getting it. And if you're not, boost erred. We probably need to stop using the term booster we need to talk about. This is a three dose vaccine, and if you're not vaccinated with three doses, you're at risk for getting more severe covid and developing long covid. I think a really important message for us as a society is to stop focusing on case counts and really focus on hospitalization rates. We need to focus on hospitalization rates because when hospitalization rates start dropping, then we're in a different phase of this pandemic. Then it becomes endemic, and it's something that we can handle. The hospitals are full across the country right now, Doctor, as the chair of the Covid sports and society workgroup, what exactly is the work that you're doing to try to make this better? The most important thing that we do and we've been doing since April 20 April of 2020 is bringing together public and private sectors, so bringing together sports leagues together. Broadway bringing together entertainment, bringing together tech companies, leading labs, leading scientists, the top public health minds in the top lab minds in the country joined this group every week and try and contribute in some way to how we can further public health across this country. It's going to take public private partnership for us to get out of this pandemic. We've got to work together and we've got to really focus on collaborating and you know it. Easy to say this now, after two years, but the pandemic has brought people together in a unique way, and I think that that's something that we should be proud of it. It's helping scientific minds come together and use real time data to approach a really, really complex problem, doctor. Any other best practices as we now enter the winter months and of course, as we have a big holiday push ahead of us both for the Christmas and New Year's holiday, I really appreciate that question because I think for your listeners and viewers, this is the take home message. It's the holidays. People wanted to see friends and family and get together with your loved ones. The most important thing is you need to test. You need to go the extra mile to be safe, so continue to use a mask when you're out. Really try and avoid the risk and find the right test for your scenario. If you're going to go see Grandma and Grandpa and they haven't gotten their booster, encourage them to get their booster. But make sure that you have a good, accurate test that can actually be sure that you're safe that day. Uh, this is going to be a very tough holiday season. I think we're going to see a rise in cases. And sports has predicted that for the last few weeks. I do think that next year will be meaningfully better. So stay optimistic out there, Stay positive. But also stay negative and, uh, really try and focus on mitigation by wearing a mask and getting your booster. All right. Dr. Ravi Sick, a chair of the Covid Sports and Society workgroup. Thank you so much for coming on the show