PORTLAND, Ore. — Thirteen Portland Trail Blazers players received their first dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine on Monday, the team announced.
The Blazers said the players were able to get the vaccine because of an excess supply of vaccines through the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, which began offering the vaccine to the general public in February.
"The Trail Blazers organization and players are grateful to the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde for making these vaccines available to the general public," the Blazers said in a statement.
"We're proud to be part of the fight against COVID-19 and getting the general public vaccinated," the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde said in a statement posted to their Facebook page. "Thank you, Portland Trail Blazers for being part of the solution."
The Blazers encouraged everyone to get the COVID vaccine and said they'll continue to do what they can to raise awareness about vaccinations.
"Our organization and players encourage everyone to get the COVID-19 vaccine," the statement read. "As vaccination efforts continue to ramp up, we will continue to use our platform via public service announcements and other messaging to raise awareness on the safety, efficacy and importance of vaccination so our state and communities can come out of this awful pandemic as soon as possible."
LISTEN: KGW's 3-on-3 Blazers Podcast
CHIME IN! If you have a question about the Blazers that you'd like us to answer on the next podcast, email us at 3on3blazers@gmail.com or tweet your questions to Orlando Sanchez, Nate Hanson, Jared Cowley or Max Barr.