Cubs president Jed Hoyer is disappointed that the team is not meeting the 85% vaccination threshold.

Chicago Cubs president Jed Hoyer says he is “disappointed” that his team is likely to fall short of the 85% vaccination threshold that leads to a COVID-19 reduction.

“It’s disappointing not to be at 85% as a team,” Hoyer said Thursday morning. “We’ve worked hard to try to convince or educate people who have been reluctant. Right now we’re at a point. I’m not going to give up hope that we’re going to get it done. My level of optimism is waning. It’s disappointing.”

About half of the major league teams have reached the threshold and are eligible for more flexible restrictions, such as the elimination of facemasks and the ability to use shared clueca spaces, indoor and outdoor dining areas and many other activities of daily living.

“There are amenities that come with getting to 85% as a group,” Hoyer said. “The felxibility with masks, dinners and things like that, we’d all like to have them.”

And many in baseball believe it’s a competitive advantage to get to 85%. Fewer players are likely to test positive, which changes the dynamics of contact tracking. Players who are close contacts won’t have to sit out games waiting for testing.

“There’s a competitive advantage we’re going to lose,” Hoyer said. “Being transparent about it, we’re not one player away from being 85 percent. It’s disappointing that we have anxieties and restrictions that others don’t have.”

Hoyer indicates he would not make personnel decisions based on players refusing to listen to their own team doctors, but he seemed perplexed that, in a sport with unavoidable injuries, his team is unwilling to take every precaution.

“This is something that can be avoided and we’re not available to avoid it somehow,” Hoyer said. “It’s a part of the job that I never fully imagined, being involved in that kind of education, that kind of convincing.”

Not many players have spoken publicly about their reluctance to get vaccinated, while some have questioned the benefit of getting to 85%.

“I don’t necessarily see it as a competitive advantage or disadvantage,” said incumbent Jake Arrieta. “We have a lot of kids vaccinated. We haven’t had any cases in the last month, so we’re doing well as a group. And we’re being careful about where we’re going and who we’re with.”

Hoyer indicated that many players have been vaccinated, but not enough to relax restrictions. The Cubs had a COVID-19 outbreak scare last month as they prepared for a series in Milwaukee. It took out their starting pitcher and several trainers.

“It’s a pretty horrible feeling, a helpless feeling,” Hoyer said of that incident. “The fact that we can’t eliminate that is disappointing. It’s irrefutable that it eliminates the risk.”