The situation is more dramatic than ever since the outbreak of the Corona pandemic in Germany. The Bavarian Sports Association (BLSV) and its Bavarian Sports Youth (BSJ) therefore appeal to all Bavarian athletes to get vaccinated. The Department of Sport and Health Sciences and the Bavarian Sports Physicians Association (BSÄV), as scientific partners of the BLSV, support the appeal.
The situation in Bavarian hospitals and intensive care units is very serious. Therefore, the Free State has intensified the action against the pandemic and issued a new version of the 15th Bavarian Infection Protection Measures Ordinance (IfSMV). According to this, stricter corona measures apply until December 15, the effects of which also affect sports. In counties or independent cities where a 7-day incidence of 1,000 is exceeded, a regional hotspot lockdown applies. In these cases, sports events are no longer permitted and sports facilities must be closed. Otherwise, the 2Gplus rule is generally applied to indoor and outdoor sports operations. This also applies with immediate effect to spectators at sporting events, with the addition of a maximum spectator capacity of 25 percent of the total possible seats.
In view of the worrying situation, the BLSV and the BSJ are convinced that only vaccination can free us from the shackles of the pandemic. The Department of Sport and Health Sciences and the Bavarian Sports Physicians Association support this with their appeals.
"The new Corona regulations are also serious for sports and have again resulted in major restrictions for many clubs and their athletes. We have now reached a point at the latest where only vaccination helps. Lives are at stake," the president of the BLSV, Jörg Ammon, makes very clear. "There must be an end to carelessness, there must be an end to a lack of solidarity. Vaccination is solidarity, it is never too late for vaccination. Everyone who can must get vaccinated to finally break the Corona infinite loop," he warns.
"At present, unfortunately, many children and young people are also infected, and the consequences of Long Covid cannot yet be properly assessed," clarifies the chairman of the Bavarian Sports Youth, Michael Weiß. "Also therefore I would like to appeal to the parents of the young people between 12 and 18 years to get the vaccination protection for themselves and the children. We adults must finally take 100% responsibility for ending the pandemic," he makes clear.
The fact that vaccinations make sense from a sports medicine point of view is also confirmed by the Department of Sport and Health Sciences. The dean Prof. Dr. Renate Oberhoffer-Fritz says: "Due to sports-specific closer contacts, athletes are rather predestined for some infections. SARS-CoV-2 is mainly transmitted via exhaled aerosol, either directly from person to person or indirectly via particles still lingering in indoor air. It can therefore be assumed that there is an increased risk of infection during joint sports activities, for example in teams, and especially with the start of the indoor season. From the point of view of sports medicine, vaccination against COVID-19 is therefore highly recommended, not only for healthy amateur and competitive athletes, but especially for people who are active in sports and have pre-existing conditions such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular problems and immune deficiencies."
Furthermore, the dean informs about the effects of COVID-19 diseases on children and adolescents: "In general, COVID-19 disease courses in children and adolescents are rather asymptomatic. Nevertheless, symptoms of a febrile flu-like infection can occur, as well as frostbite-like skin phenomena, the so-called 'covid toes'. In addition, a very severe clinical picture, PIMS (Pediatric Inflammatory Multisystem Syndrome), has been described. The latter is a delayed reaction of the immune system to a COVID-19 infection, which affects the skin and mucous membranes, heart and vessels as well as the gastrointestinal tract so severely that intensive medical treatment is required. According to the German Society for Pediatric Infectiology (DGPI), 464 children in Germany have been affected to date."
In its LICO study, the Chair of Preventive Pediatrics is looking into the questions of what long-term consequences COVID disease has for children and adolescents, how it affects physical performance, and what influences on quality of life may result.
"Long-lasting symptoms even three months after infection with SARS-CoV-2 are very rare in children, at least as far as the alpha variant of the disease is concerned," explains Prof. Oberhoffer-Fritz. "Current studies speak of two to six percent, and these are mostly older children who had to be hospitalized. Common persistent symptoms were respiratory symptoms in one to two percent of cases each, general physical complaints such as fatigue and fever, neurological complaints such as headaches, and psychological complaints such as the development of depression or anxiety disorder. Because COVID-19 infections are associated with endotheliitis, or inflammation of the inner lining of blood vessels, we are currently using ultrasound and other non-invasive methods in our LICO study to investigate whether children have changes in vascular regulation after COVID-19 infection and whether their quality of life is affected after infection. Interested parties are welcome!"
The president of the Bavarian Association of Sports Physicians, Dr. med. Frank Möckel, concludes by making it clear that "vaccinations are also important for athletes and sportswomen, especially in the current situation. On the one hand, vaccination offers a high level of protection against falling ill, which may result in a longer absence from training. On the other hand, it is also about protecting the personal environment such as the family and training group."
The BLSV provides more information on the topic of vaccination on its new landing page at www.blsv.de/wirgegencorona.
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Renate Oberhoffer-Fritz
Dean Department of Sport and Health Sciences
Chair of Preventive Pediatrics
Georg-Brauchle-Ring 60/62
80992 München
phone: 089 289 24601
e-mail: renate.oberhoffer(at)tum.de
Text: BLSV/Romy Schwaiger
Photos: BLSV/BSJ/BSÄV/Andreas Heddergott/TUM