Saskatchewan Roughriders’ quarterback Cody Fajardo doesn’t want any drama when it comes to his vaccination status.
The franchise QB was fully vaccinated prior to attending training camp in July for the shortened 2021 CFL season.
“Part of the whole reason I got vaccinated is so I didn’t have to jump through a bunch of hoops, I just was eager and ready to play football. I talked about it with my wife, after doing the research and having her knowledge, it was a no-brainer for me,” Fajardo said.
The Riders players sit around the league-mandated 85 percent vaccine threshold. Whether teams have met the mark ultimately decides if the players are paid should a game happen to be cancelled. Additionally, any COVID outbreak could lead to a team suffering a loss. Both consequences have Fajardo strictly following the protocols.
“I don’t think you can get frustrated with it. It’s just part of the COVID world that we’re living in,” Fajardo said.
“Guys have done a tremendous job here being smart with what their decisions have been outside of football. Guys were really smart going home because everybody came back and nobody had a positive test — did a really good job of taking care of it.”
Legislation could come from the federal government by the end of October mandating a vaccination requirement for any commercial air or interprovincial train travellers. That could affect the ability for unvaccinated athletes to get to road games around the CFL. It’s a key topic of conversation among coaches and general managers across the league.
“You’ll find yourself losing game cheques, you’ll find yourself possibly losing your job over something that could be a small decision that you really didn’t think of in the grand scheme. This is our job, this is our livelihood: we get paid to play football, so you have to take it seriously and you can’t put your team in a bad situation,” Fajardo said.
The government will engage with key stakeholders to plan for the implementation of these travel vaccine initiatives. The process will include determining how the requirement will be implemented, through confirmation of vaccination and other means of protection, such as testing when necessary.
The feds hope the measures will contribute to reaching the overall levels of vaccination Canada needs to sustain a resilient economic recovery in the face of more transmissible and dangerous coronavirus variants of concern.
More than 71 percent of eligible Canadians are fully vaccinated and over 82 percent have had their first shot. However, north of six million eligible citizens in Canada remain unvaccinated.
“I know it’s a tough decision for a lot of people and I respect their decision. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and I’m not going to force my opinion on anybody,” Fajardo said.
“I’ve had some guys come up to me and ask me questions about when I got the vaccine. I’m open and honest with them, but I’m never going to push anything on anybody. I’m glad I don’t have to deal with that drama of not being vaccinated.”
Saskatchewan’s first four games, including the Labour Day Classic, will be at home which means the green and white travel for seven of their final 10 regular season match-ups. Fajardo wants that process to be as smooth, safe and healthy as possible.
