Tammy Abraham on Wednesday night broke ranks to declare he HAS taken his Covid jabs. But the strong mood of the England camp is that they don’t want to take a public stance as the poster boys of a vaccination programme.
The Roma striker is believed to be the first England player to share publicly his own medical situation, with the mantra from St George’s Park being that it is a private issue.
Abraham, who was forced to miss a Three Lions friendly last October when his birthday party breached Covid regulations and has suffered from the virus, claimed his situation was different.
However, he too was adamant that players, like the general public, should be allowed to make their own choice.
“For me it was a different situation. I am vaccinated. That is a personal choice,” Abraham declared.
“I have contracted the virus before, I am in Italy and for me it is the right thing to do. But people are entitled to do what they want to do with their bodies.”
Under manager Gareth Southgate, the England players have been at the forefront of the battle against racism but this is not an issue on which they want to take a lead.
The team doctor lectured the players upon arrival at St George’s Park about the practicalities of ongoing measures against spreading the virus.
Centre-back Fikayo Tomori added: “We’re public figures so definitely people are wondering, ‘If they take it maybe I’m going to take it,’ or ‘If they don’t take it, maybe I’m not going to take it’.
“But I don’t think it’s my kind of place to put it out there and say I’ve done this or I haven’t done that to kind of influence other people.
“It’s up to every single person if they want to do it or not.”
The FA of Ireland have reached the same conclusion after their 26-year-old West Brom striker Callum Robinson has revealed he’s still not vaccinated despite twice being laid low by Covid.
They said in a statement: “We have encouraged all our players at all levels of the game to be vaccinated, but we respect and must accept the right of all individuals to make a personal choice on Covid-19 vaccination.”
Abraham’s comments come after FIFA recently encouraged players to get the vaccine.
A statement read: “We encourage COVID-19 vaccinations and endorse the World Health Organization’s position: safe, fair, and equitable access is critical in all countries. Players should not receive priority access to vaccines.”
The Sun meanwhile reported recently that at least five members of Gareth Southgate’s squad are refusing to get vaccinated.
Three of that group are said to be senior members who all played key roles in England’s run to the Euro 2020 final and are said to be reluctant to get the jab due to conspiracy theories.
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