The NFL has set its regular season schedule to begin on September 10 when defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs hosts the Houston Texans in the first game of 2020.
As of now, the league has not changed on that date, but of course, the COVID-19 pandemic could affect the league’s plans.
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It is not known what COVID-19 will be like in the United States by the time September arrives. Many states have seen an increase in cases after slowly reopening local economies in recent weeks. States like Florida and Texas have been particularly affected lately.
In the latest episode of the “Next Pats Podcast,” NBC Sports Boston Patriots insider Phil Perry talks to Helen Boucher, MD, who is the Chief of the Division of Geographic Medicine and Infectious Diseases at Tufts Medical Center. . They discussed the challenges the NFL faces in playing again, what is the probability that sports will return, and much more.
There has been a lot of talk in recent months about a second wave of COVID-19 in the fall / winter, which is usually when influenza and other viruses are more prevalent. How could a second wave of COVID-19 affect the return of sports?
“We are on the first wave in the United States,” said Dr. Boucher. “Based on what we are seeing in the southern hemisphere, in places like Brazil and Guatemala, they are now in their winter breathing season and it is not going so well. COVID is rampant there. So I think we have to be concerned that we will see a second wave next fall and that we have both COVID and influenza, and other respiratory viruses that come all at once.
“So many people are making plans to try to squeeze things out, like college for example. Colleges and universities, many have planned to have children back a week or two earlier and then send them home on Thanksgiving and finish the semester through remote learning. People think that way in anticipation of a second wave. And to go back to our previous discussion: Plan for success, but I think it’s very wise to think about trying to get things in that window of better weather before the other viruses reappear for the season. “
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Would it make sense to delay the start of fall / winter sports for later in the winter or even in the spring of 2021?
“It certainly is an option,” said Dr. Boucher. “We are expecting a vaccine at some point, and there has been a lot of talk, a very optimistic conversation. Dr. (Anthony) Fauci himself spoke about perhaps having access to a vaccine in late 2020, which is very optimistic. I think it is the more likely we will see it in early 2021, rather a year from now. But if a vaccine were available, it would be a game changer. That would really change, wordlessly, the world of sports and many other parts of our lifetime.
“I think a lot of people’s focus now is what we can do in the short term when things are better. Things are better here (in Massachusetts), we are lucky right now. So these are tough decisions and often went back to financial side. So that is out of my reach in terms of my experience, but it is a very reasonable question and I think it is likely that by the spring of next year we will have more therapies available. We certainly have reason to believe that we will be better in treatment of the disease. We are learning a lot about the treatment of the disease, not only with medications but also with other therapies and the way we take care of people. I am optimistic that by next spring things will be better, but there is no guarantee “
For more information on Dr. Boucher’s conversation with Phil Perry, check out the Next Pats podcast on the NBC Sports Boston podcast network or watch YouTube below:
