Ole Miss head football coach Lane Kiffin has said that all of the players on his roster and all of the team’s staff have received the COVID-19 vaccine, ESPN reported.
During his team’s preseason football practice on Sunday, Kiffin told the media that there is a 100 percent vaccination rate among players, coaching staff and other team members.
Kiffin also said that he made sure the assistant coaches on his staff would hold players and others accountable for getting vaccinated, according to the outlet, stating that they don’t want to be in the position to forfeit games.
Kiffin, who is entering his second season as head coach of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) program, said he’s proud of how his players were willing to get vaccinated, ESPN reported.
The comments from Kiffin come as the U.S. is currently dealing with an ongoing wave of new COVID-19 infections driven by the highly contagious delta variant surging among those who aren’t vaccinated.
Mississippi has one of the lowest vaccinations rates in the country as just 35 percent of state residents are fully vaccinated, according to state health department data.
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said in July that six of the conference’s 14 member schools have reached the 80 percent vaccination threshold, adding the conference won’t reschedule games this season due to a COVID-19 outbreak, ESPN noted.
The 100 percent vaccination rate at Ole Miss also comes as the NFL deals with a vocal minority of players who are refusing to get vaccinated, complicating plans for various teams and raising tensions.