Dr. Furukawa Discusses COVID19 Vaccine and Masking

Hi, I'm Dr. Furukawa. As a sports medicine doctor, I want my athletes to succeed.

Some people think getting sick from COVID-19 is a minor inconvenience and not a big deal because they're young and healthy.

You know, I thought we had COVID-19 knocked out in June. It was amazing to hear the crack of the bat while watching my kids swim for the Dolphin swim team this summer.

Now we have to deal with the Delta variant. Delta variant is bad. It seems to make everyone who get it much sicker. It doesn't mean just older people, but it seems to be other age groups as well. It also seems to last a little longer and is much more transmissible.

The worst news came from a study done right here in Madison, Wisconsin. The Delta variant can be passed by vaccinated people, just as well as unvaccinated people.

So with great disappointment, I have to ask you to wash your masks and get them back out.

If you are an athlete, don't mess with the Delta variant. I do not want another class of seniors to miss any more games because of this virus.

And if you don't feel good, stay home, don't risk giving COVID to your teammates.

I can tell you that if you are training for a triathlon or marathon, don't let this virus mess up your training.

So take it from me. The best thing we can do right now to protect ourselves is super simple. Get vaccinated and to protect others near you, stay home if you're sick and mask up. Thank you.