The NBA season is currently stalled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. With several players having been infected and since recovering from the novel coronavirus, The Athletic’s Shams Charania is reporting that the NBA will participate in an antibody study in order to develop a vaccine for the virus.
Sources: The NBA and its players are supporting a Mayo Clinic study for antibodies using serology testing (blood draw) to better understand prevalence of coronavirus among players and staff and promote long-term efforts to develop vaccine.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 5, 2020
The season hiatus began when Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for the coronavirus in mid-March, followed shortly thereafter by his teammate Donovan Mitchell.
Among the numerous NBA players to test positive for COVID-19, the most prominent among them is former league MVP and ten-time All-Star Kevin Durant, who was revealed to have tested positive along with three of his teammates on the Brooklyn Nets.
The extent of players and team personnel throughout the league who were also infected but remained asymptomatic will serve as an important revelation throughout this study, as the spread of the disease will become more apparent.
