Jurgen Klopp has revealed that the Liverpool squad has begun receiving COVID-19 boosters, but could not be drawn on if the vaccine will be a requisite for new signings.
The UK government has urged the rollout of a third COVID-19 jab – in other words, a booster for the vaccine – across all those eligible in response to the latest variant.
A rise in cases across the country has already seen a number of Premier League games postponed in recent weeks, while vaccine passports or a negative test are now required for entry to fixtures with over 10,000 in attendance.
This has, naturally, made life more complicated for those involved in football, but speaking in his pre-Newcastle press conference, Klopp said he “supports these new measures absolutely.”
“Yesterday we were all negative and we hope that the same is the case for today. That’s it pretty much,” he explained.
“We are, like the whole world, concerned about it, absolutely. But we do what we can.
“The vaccination status of the team is quite good, I think all who were eligible got boosted – for some medical reasons, some were not allowed in that moment, but they will be done in the next few days.
“The rest got the booster a few days ago and hopefully we can do that with the whole team.”
Speaking earlier this week, Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard admitted that he would be considering a player’s vaccine status when weighing up whether to complete a potential signing.
However, like Gerrard, Klopp insisted that no decision had been made regarding a hard rule for signings who may not be fully vaccinated.
“I didn’t think about it, to be honest. I don’t know,” he said.
“Who knows where we will be, in which situation the world will be, when we start signing players again. But it’s not important in the moment.
“The whole thing, the whole vaccination thing, is for me a massive question of solidarity, loyalty and togetherness.
“We all have the chance to help not only ourselves but other people as well by getting vaccinated.
“There are no two possible answers, there is only one answer, so you do it. That’s how I understand it.
“It’s not only the squad, everyone who is working here at the AXA Training Centre is at least double-vaccinated and will get a booster as soon as possible for him or her.”
Fan Comments