The Food and Drug Administration has approved the first-ever COVID-19 vaccine for the United States.
The NBA reportedly is keeping a close eye on the country's efforts to approve the immunizations because it wants to be prepared.
In fact, NBA commissioner Adam Silver and his staff have begun talks regarding potential COVID-19 vaccine policies, according to ESPN's Brian Windhorst. And there are several particular issues they'd like to address.
The first is properly educating players and staff about vaccine choices, possible side effects and general effectiveness. Some NBA players already "have expressed hesitation about the vaccine to their agents and team doctors," per Windhorst.
Another big question the NBA apparently wants to answer is timing. The league reportedly wants to respect local and federal government guidelines regarding which people are vaccinated first, but won't forbid individuals from seeking out a vaccine on their own.
The clock is ticking for the NBA and other professional sports leagues to develop these kinds of policies as more companies prepare to seek approval for their respective vaccines. Countries are wasting no time rolling out doses to high-risk patients, and the U.S. is one of them.
