Coach K, David Cutcliffe Get Vaccinated for COVID-19

Duke had extra doses at end of day, called in head coaches

Mike Krzyzewski is 73 years old, which makes him eligible to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

“Last Thursday, they changed things in our state to go to (age) 65,” Coach K said. “Our school has done a really good job of keeping it orderly. No one jumps the line. Obviously, they take care of essential workers first. Now, my wife and I are in that pool of 1,600 people that were given times to get the vaccine here at Duke.”

Krzyzewski didn’t have to wait until his assigned date, though.

“Last Thursday or Friday, (football head coach) David Cutcliffe and I were notified at about 4:15 that they had two doses left,” he said. “They have a vial where you have six doses, and if you don’t use them, they go to waste. So David and I got there and got our first shots that day. My wife went in at 7:15 Sunday morning. They set up times for all the people. She got her first vaccine. We both got the Pfizer. So somewhere around the second of February—for her, the seventh of February—in a two-day window, we’ll get the second vaccine.”

The vaccine gives Coach K some stability, after he recently was forced to miss a game due to quarantine, after potentially being exposed to the virus. It’s one of several disruptions the pandemic has caused this year.

“It’s the most unique (season) by far,” he said. “And the most dangerous. Sometimes, you have injuries, but there’s no danger. You’re not worried about vaccines or anything like that.”