Would The Yankees COVID-19 Outbreak Have Been Avoided With The Pfizer or Moderna Vaccine?

Amid news yesterday that the CDC had lifted masks guidelines for fully vaccinated people came the news that eight members of the New York Yankees had tested positive for COVID-19 after being fully vaccinated including shortstop Gleyber Torres. 

Unfortunately, this news was greeted with fever pitch for those who subscribe to Newsmax nonsense. No one ever said taking the vaccines would prevent one from getting COVID-19. But getting the vaccines will keep you from being hospitalized or dying. As it stands, only third base coach Phil Nevin experienced mild symptoms from which he has since recovered.

The common denominator here is that all eight Yankees members who tested positive for COVID-19 received the single dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine rather than the double dose Pfizer or Moderna vaccines which both have a higher efficacy rating. Would there have been COVID-19 outbreak on the team had these individuals utilized a mRNA vaccine instead of an adenovirus vaccine?

Naturally this lead to other questions. Did all Yankees personnel take the J&J vaccine? Or did some personnel take Pfizer or Moderna? What about the rest of MLB? Do teams have a blanket policy regarding a specific vaccine or is this left up to the individual?  It appears to be the former as there are reports the Boston Red Sox are receiving their second dose of the Pfizer vaccine.

Then there is the question of whether the fully vaccinated Yankee personnel transmitted the virus among themselves or if they received it from someone who is unvaccinated. The former could again raise concerns about the efficacy of the J&J vaccine as was the case when its use was halted last month because of rare cases of blood clotting in women of child bearing age. If it is the latter might then it could be a result of vaccine hesitancy within the organization itself. Many Latin American born ballplayers regard vaccines in general with suspicion as do American born players from certain areas of the country. In other words, MLB is a microcosm of what it playing out in society at large.

It will be interesting if this COVID outbreak on the Yankees is but an aberration or a forewarning of things to come.