Updated Public Health Guidelines for Fully Vaccinated Individuals Prompt NCAA Advisory Group to Amend Recommendations for Spring NCAA Championships
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Updated Public Health Guidelines for Fully Vaccinated Individuals Prompt NCAA Advisory Group to Amend its Recommendations for Upcoming Spring NCAA Championships
Executive Summary
NCAA announces that fully vaccinated student-athletes and Tier 1 individuals with no COVID-19-like symptoms may be exempted from routine testing
NCAA also confirms fully vaccinated student-athletes and Tier 1 individuals with no COVID-19-like symptoms do not need to quarantine, be restricted from work, or be tested after exposure to someone suspected or confirmed to have COVID-19
NCAA clarifies that non-vaccinated student-athletes and Tier 1 participants will continue to undergo testing at NCAA championships in accordance with the Championships Safety Overview guidance
NCAA advisory group defines what “fully vaccinated” means for purpose of this update
NCAA advisory group’s new recommendations took effect this past weekend -- May 1, 2021
State or local authorities’ guidelines and requirements may supersede the NCAA advisory group’s guidelines
Exempting fully vaccinated individuals from testing and quarantine protocols is welcome relief from the operational and financial burdens the additional safety measures have placed on universities
The NCAA will continue its policy of universal masking and physical distancing for its Championships except for student-athletes and officials during competition or practice
Association of Public Land-grant Universities (APLU) survey reflects wide-range of institutional spending on COVID-19 testing and related costs.
The advisory group recommended the following considerations for collegiate sports, including the upcoming spring and fall championships.
First, with regard to COVID-19 testing, fully vaccinated student-athletes and Tier 1 individuals (those individuals within the team’s travel party including coaches, managers, and trainers) with no COVID-19-like symptoms may be exempted from routine testing.
If there is evidence of substantial or high transmission in the community or if there are COVID-19 variants that escape the effect of the vaccine, then testing may need to resume. Such decisions will be made in conjunction with local public health authorities and/or federal guidance.
Unvaccinated student-athletes and Tier 1 participants will continue to undergo testing at NCAA championships in accordance with the Championships Safety Overview guidance. The NCAA advisory group recommended that member schools should consult with their campus experts with regard to testing fully vaccinated dormitory residents after exposure to someone suspected or confirmed to have COVID-19.
The NCAA advisory group noted that for the purposes of this guidance, people are considered “fully vaccinated” for COVID-19 two weeks or longer after they have received the second dose in a two-dose series (Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna) or two weeks or longer after they have received a single-dose vaccine (Johnson & Johnson/Janssen). This guidance can also be applied to COVID-19 vaccines that have been authorized for emergency use by the World Health Organization (e.g., AstraZeneca/Oxford).
Fully vaccinated student-athletes and Tier 1 individuals with no COVID-19-like symptoms do not need to quarantine, be restricted from work, or be tested after exposure to someone suspected or confirmed to have COVID-19, as their risk of infection is low. However, the NCAA advisory group recommends those individuals should still monitor for symptoms of COVID-19 for 14 days after an exposure. If they experience symptoms, they should isolate themselves from others, be clinically evaluated for COVID-19, including SARS-CoV-2 testing, if indicated, and inform their primary athletics health care provider or physician of their vaccination status at the time of presentation to care.
The NCAA’s guidance also applies to Tier 2 and Tier 3 individuals who may be subject to testing protocols at member schools and championships. Tier 2 is a moderate exposure tier and consists of individuals who come into close contact with Tier 1 individuals but can reasonably maintain physical distance and use face coverings. Examples of relevant individuals include certain team staff (for example, administrators) and certain operational staff (for example, security, event staff and league staff). Tier 3 is the lowest exposure tier and includes individuals who provide event services but do not come into close contact with Tier 1 individuals. Examples of relevant individuals include certain operational staff (for example, housekeeping, catering, sanitation and transportation) and media or broadcast workers.
This new policy recently became effective May 1 for NCAA championships that have not started, or the next round of competition for those championships that are already underway.
The NCAA advisory group confirmed individuals can include or update their vaccination status through the registration portal. While this policy is being adopted for NCAA championships, the NCAA clarified that should state or local authorities require testing of vaccinated individuals, that will supersede this policy and vaccinated individuals will be required to be tested. With regard to masking, the CDC has provided updated guidance on masking for both unvaccinated and fully vaccinated individuals. The NCAA advisory group noted member schools should consider these recommendations for their athletics policies.
For championships, the NCAA will continue its policy of universal masking and physical distancing except for student-athletes and officials during competition or practice, as the logistics of differentiating vaccinated from unvaccinated individuals at events is challenging.
The NCAA advisory group noted a revised resocialization document will be distributed before summer based on evolving guidance from the CDC.
As reported last July by the Associated Press (AP), the costs of testing and masks, among other goods and services supporting testing and safety within athletics, has taken a financial toll on athletic department budgets across the country. East Carolina Athletic Director Jon Gilbert told the AP that his school had already budgeted $100,000 for COVID-19 expenses that included testing and supplies, and he expected to exceed that amount. Some schools, he added, could end up spending as much as $500,000, depending on the number of cases.
Although the price points can vary, COVID-19 tests have cost Division I athletic departments north of $100 for each test. As WTOC reported in January, Georgia Southern’s athletic department had spent more than $771,000 on tests by the beginning of 2021. In the fiscal year 2021 budget, Georgia Southern had $438,939 allocated to sports medicine operations, but Athletic Director Jared Benko said they would surpass what they expected to spend.
Unallocated department funds and CARES Act monies, for example, have helped backfill the escalating costs tied to testing and other goods and services tied to COVID-19 health and safety management. Universities and their athletics departments have also had to incur the costs of establishing social distancing protocols and signage on campus as well as quarantining students including student-athletes, which comes with housing, food, food delivery, and other expenses associated with isolating students on short notice.
According to Insider Higher Ed, the Association of Public Land-grant Universities (APLU) conducted a survey of its member institutions regarding COVID-19 costs. The survey results indicated that testing was the largest expense with 50% of respondents reporting they spent between $514,000 and $7.8 million on COVID-19 testing this fall. Half of the APLU survey respondents spent between $84,240 and $1.4 million on face masks and between $500,000 and $3.9 million to implement social distancing. Institutions have a hodgepodge of additional expenses related to the pandemic that haven’t been captured by the APLU survey. Half of the APLU respondents spent between $921,000 and $6.6 million on other unidentified expenses.
The revised recommendations issued last week by the NCAA advisory group regarding vaccinated individuals being exempted from certain testing protocols and, consequently, presenting less burden on NCAA member schools’ COVID-19 management has been welcome news for universities and, specifically, their athletic department’s sports medicine operations.
Athletics Veritas is presented for information purposes only and should not be considered advice or counsel on NCAA compliance matters. For guidance on NCAA rules and processes, always consult your university’s athletics compliance office, conference office, and/or the NCAA.
