LeBron James has been urged to reconsider his refusal to confirm whether or not he will take the Covid-19 vaccine after comments which underscored apprehension amongst NBA players over the new coronavirus drugs. In comments ahead of the All-Star Game last weekend, Los Angeles Lakers superstar James would not say whether he planned on getting vaccinated. "That's a conversation that my family and I will have. Pretty much keep that to a private thing," James said. "Things like that, when you decide to do something, that's a conversation between you and your family and not for everybody. I'll keep it that way." James' comments contrasted with efforts by the NBA to encourage people to get vaccinated. The league has created a number of public service advertisements attesting to the safety of the vaccine, including the likes of NBA icons such as Bill Russell and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. 

"Anyone who has a following in our country can do a great job of getting people to understand that they need to be vaccinated ASAP," Abdul-Jabbar said in an interview earlier this year. "I don't think there is any problem with that." Yet while the likes of Russell, Abdul-Jabbar and San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich have enthusiastically promoted the vaccination rollout, there remains enduring apprehension amongst the NBA's playing staff. National Basketball Players Association executive director Michele Roberts told Yahoo Sports that reactions from players about whether to take the vaccine had ranged from "Hell no, I'm not taking it" to "Why can't we take it sooner?" James' Lakers team-mate Jared Dudley expressed reservations about the vaccine, saying on Twitter on Sunday that healthy athletes were unlikely to rush to take the new drugs "without enough research." The Brooklyn Nets' James Harden and Utah's Donovan Mitchell also said they were undecided about the vaccine in remarks to reporters ahead of the All-Star Game in Atlanta last weekend.