Cowboys Legend Emmitt Smith, Jill Biden Team Up to Promote COVID-19 Vaccine in Texas

Dallas Cowboys legend Emmitt Smith urged Texas residents to get vaccinated while touring a COVID-19 vaccination site with First Lady Jill Biden on Tuesday.

Smith delivered a message to those in attendance about getting the vaccine not only to protect yourself but also those around you in the community, per Jori Epstein of USA Today.

"This is serious," Smith said at Emmett J. Conrad High School in Dallas. "We're getting to the third and fourth quarter. So you know you must not stop, you must not quit, you must continue to press on. That goes for each and every American. Stand up for the person to your right and to your left."

The Hall of Fame running back, who confirmed he'd received the COVID-19 vaccine, offered gratitude to Chase Walton, a 14-year-old high school wide receiver, as he wrapped up his first shot.

"You really truly are protecting someone else when you protect yourself," Smith said. "It's up to someone else now to do what you just did so they can protect the next person."

Texas has lagged a little behind the United States as a whole in its vaccination rate.

The latest numbers from Texas Health and Human Services show 49.3 percent of the state's residents 12 and older are fully vaccinated. The U.S. figure in that category is 54.3 percent, according to the CDC.

President Joe Biden stated his hope was having at least 70 percent of American adults with at least one vaccine shot by July 4, but his COVID-19 response coordinator, Jeff Zients, said last week they're going to come up short of that "aspirational" goal, per CNN.

"The reality is many younger Americans felt like COVID-19 is not something that impacts them, and they've been less eager to get the shot. However, with the Delta variant now spreading across the country and infecting younger people worldwide, it's more important than ever that they get vaccinated," Zients said.

Jill Biden said during Tuesday's event with Smith that they'll continue to push for more Americans to get their shots, per Epstein.

"Like Emmitt said: That is just not enough," she said. "Which is why I'm here today. Because your life and your health matter to me and to your president."

Some athletes have either said they won't get the vaccine or declined to answer whether they have been vaccinated ahead of the 2021 season. Buffalo Bills wide receiver Cole Beasley said he was prepared to walk away from the sport if being vaccinated became a requirement.

Earlier this month, the NFL and the Players Association announced updated COVID-19 protocols for training camp and the preseason, which are far less restrictive for vaccinated players, while those who remain unvaccinated must follow many of the same rules from last year.

Texas lifted all coronavirus restrictions in March, which will allow NFL teams in the state—the Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans—to welcome fans at full capacity for their 2021 campaigns.