After Aaron Boone said he was confident the Yankees would soon get to 85 percent vaccination among their players and staff, which Major League Baseball has incentivized as the mark teams need to reach in order to reduce some COVID restrictions, the team announced players, coaches and staff received vaccinations at the Stadium on Wednesday.
Boone said a number of pitchers who weren’t going to play Wednesday received shots before the game, while others got them after the 4-3, 11-inning loss to Baltimore, with the team taking advantage of Thursday’s off day before their series starts at Tampa Bay on Friday.
“It was an exciting day in that regard,’’ Boone said of the vaccinations.
The Yankees said in a statement that the staff of Montefiore Medical Center in The Bronx were on-site to “administer COVID vaccinations to New York Yankees players, coaches, field staff and support staff.”
Boone was among those within the organization that already had been vaccinated.
Once they get to 85 percent among the traveling party (which includes players, coaches and staff), teams qualify for privileges within MLB’s strict health and safety protocols.
Included in those changes is no longer having to wear masks in the dugouts and bullpens, as well as being permitted to eat indoors at restaurants.
Additionally, vaccinated players no longer need to worry about contact tracing and the subsequent quarantining if someone on the club does get the virus.
Boone said the Yankees have had doctors and others who have received the vaccine — including him — speak to players about getting it.
“We’ve had our doctors and some of us who have gotten the vaccine … talk to the guys and I know it’s been one of the topics of conversation around the club,” Boone said.
The Yankees said the “process has been seamless and efficient, and we are grateful that by receiving the vaccine, we can contribute to stopping the spread of COVID-19.”
“I’m very optimistic we’ll get to that point very soon,’’ Boone said Wednesday. “It’s a matter of when we got that opportunity, which I know is coming.”