Smart urges Dawg Nation to get vaccinated in DPH video ahead of season kickoff

ATLANTA — As the Georgia Bulldogs get ready to kick off their season this weekend, coach Kirby Smart is urging the Dawg Nation to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

“The more dawgs that get the COVID-19 vaccine, the quicker we can return to normal,” Smart said in a video posted by the Georgia Department of Public Health.

UGA’s season begins Saturday against the Clemson Tigers in Charlotte, which will air on Channel 2 at 7:30 p.m The first home game is against UAB on Sept. 11.

For Georgia fans, there will be no COVID-19 mandates for attending University of Georgia football games at Sanford Stadium.

But Smart is still asking all UGA Bulldogs fans to do their part and get vaccinated.

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“I’m asking every member of Dawg Nation to say yes,” Smart said. “If everyone gets the vaccine, we’ll be back barking together in no time.”

Tailgating is back at most SEC games this year, but many of the attendance restrictions and mask mandates from 2020 are not.

The Crimson Tide players and coaches are almost 100% vaccinated, with a rate of more than 91% among the coaches, staff and administrators throughout the athletic department, athletic director Greg Byrne said in a recent post on Twitter.

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Other coaches, including Georgia’s Kirby Smart, also say that more than 90% of their team is vaccinated.

“My goal has always been 100%,” Smart said in a recent interview.

Smart said his team had done their part and it was now time for the Dawg Nation to do theirs and get vaccinated.

“Sick ‘em Dawg Nation, and do your part today,” Smart said.

RELATED NEWS:

UGA coach Kirby Smart: At least 85% of football players are vaccinated Channel 2′s Alison Mastrangelo sat down one-on-one with Smart Tuesday before his SEC Media Days appearance in Hoover, Alabama.

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