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Ahead of the New Orleans Pelicans matchup with the Los Angeles Clippers tonight, an interesting bit of news was announced earlier today by Andrew Lopez of ESPN.
Dozens of eligible members of the New Orleans Pelicans organization, including multiple players, received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine Saturday, the team announced.
Sources told ESPN that while the majority of players on the Pelicans who were eligible received the shot, not every player did.
According to their social media pages, Nicolo Melli admitted to getting the vaccination yesterday and Sindarius Thornwell voiced his intent to do so several days ago.
I got the first Covid vaccine shot yesterday. I feel lucky that I had this opportunity. Can’t wait to get second shot in three weeks.
— Nicolò Melli (@NikMelli) March 14, 2021
If you can, get it. #vaccine
I’m getting the vaccine shot tomorrow... ya boy kinda nervous
— sindarius thornwell (@Sin_City_803) March 13, 2021
“It was good to be able to get it,” Stan Van Gundy said in pregame. “Louisiana, as a state, is doing a great job with that ... Hopefully we can participate in promoting people getting the vaccine when it’s available to them because I think it’s our way out of this whole thing.”
The head coach praised Aaron Nelson and others associated with staying atop the rules and regulations regarding the Covid-19 vaccinations because the Pelicans did not jump the line ahead of the rest of the population.
As Lopez laid out in his article, anyone over the age of 16 and possessing certain qualifying health conditions is now allowed to get the vaccine in Louisiana. One of those parameters includes being overweight — something many NBA players meet the test due to having a body mass index of over 25.
For more on today’s matchup, please give our preview a read.
Who: New Orleans Pelicans (16-22) vs Los Angeles Clippers (25-14)
When: March 14, 8:00 p.m. Central
Where to watch: FSNOLA, ESPN
Where to listen: ESPN 100.3 FM
For more Pelicans talk, subscribe to The Bird Calls podcast feed on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Google Podcasts. You can follow this author on Twitter at @OlehKosel.