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23rd MLB team reaches 85% COVID-19 vaccinations as shots slow

NEW YORK -- A 23rd Major League Baseball team has reached the 85% vaccination threshold for players and other on-field personnel, which allows relaxed protocols, but there were few additional vaccinations in the past week.

MLB and the players' association said Friday that 85.4% of Tier 1 and 2 individuals had been fully vaccinated, up just 0.1% from the previous week, and 86.5% had received at least one dose, unchanged from the previous week.

Tier 1 includes players, managers, coaches, team physicians, athletic trainers, and strength and conditioning staff. Tier 2 includes ownership, front-office staff, travel staff, head groundskeepers and ballpark operations staff.

Once a team reaches 85% vaccinations among Tiers 1 and 2, it has the option to apply loosened protocols to Tier 2.

There were zero positives from 1,854 tests in the past week, which was down from 9,104 the previous week.

This season, there have been 66 positive tests -- 37 players, 29 staff -- among 205,377 samples tested, a 0.03% positive rate. The positive tests are among 25 teams.