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Berlin (dpa) - Despite the federal government's promise of vaccination, waiting for the long-awaited corona protection will be a test of nerves for the German Olympians.
Only three months before the opening ceremony in Tokyo, doubts about the speed of vaccinations and the fear of side effects for the Olympic form torment the already insecure athlete community. DOSB boss Alfons Hörmann therefore urged politicians and authorities to hurry: "Now it is important to implement the vaccinations responsibly and professionally in the next few weeks together with all federal and state authorities responsible for implementation."
The President of the German Olympic Sports Confederation described the fact that the Corona cabinet had assured the timely vaccination of all Olympic participants at the beginning of the week as a "particularly valuable signal of support".
But in view of the long sluggish vaccination campaign, the message from Berlin does not mean that all of the athletes' worries have been eliminated.
A few weeks ago, the Athleten Germany Association had warned: "Taking into account training cancellations and the outstanding qualification competitions, time is running out."
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Only 15 percent of the members of the German Tokyo team have been vaccinated so far.
According to a DOSB survey, eight percent reject a vaccination - many of them probably also because they fear a setback in the delicate phase of mold construction.
“It has to be done quickly now, because it doesn't help us athletes if you get vaccinated in full training just before the games,” said marathon runner Richard Ringer in an interview with Sport1.
The 32-year-old reported that top athletes who had already been vaccinated were slowed down significantly in their preparation.
“You can't say that you will be vaccinated in June, it will no longer work.
Every body reacts differently, some don't feel anything, and others lie in bed for days, ”said Ringer.
Frank Stäbler, hoping for a medal, also longs for a quick vaccination, even if without long-term studies it is unclear whether this is useful or harmful for him.
The wrestling world champion was infected with corona last year and still has antibodies.
It is not certain whether these will remain until summer.
The topic is “omnipresent” and “extremely exhausting,” said Stäbler.
"The worst is the uncertainty."
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The debate continues as to whether the 1,100 team members for the Olympics and Paralympics should not soon receive preferential vaccination. According to DOSB, a majority of the team rejected this, but a number of other nations such as Poland, Lithuania, Hungary, Israel, India and Mexico are going this way. Sports powers like China and Russia also vaccinate their Olympians at an early stage, and thanks to the high vaccination rate in their homeland, the US athletes should travel to Japan safely anyway.
The question of equal opportunities arises once again for many German athletes when some of their competitors have enjoyed more security and freedom through an early vaccination in their preparation for the Olympics and were able to hone their form without being influenced. “The more east the country, or shall we say the more different the structures there, the faster the people were vaccinated. That concerns us in part, ”said canoe Olympic champion Tom Liebscher, who sees the German athletes falling behind.
The Federal Government and the Standing Vaccination Commission, however, are calm.
"I hope and believe that the problem will have been resolved by June, when we should have reached level 6 according to Stiko's recommendation," said Stiko chairman Thomas Mertens of the German press agency.
In level 6 of the vaccination sequence, all Germans can be vaccinated.
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For May and June, politicians expect strong vaccination advances thanks to the delivery commitments from the manufacturers Biontech and Moderna.
There are also cans from Astrazeneca and Johnson & Johnson.
The DOSB has rejected the controversial offer by the International Olympic Committee to use China to vaccinate Olympic starters with Chinese vaccines.
The vaccines are not approved in the EU anyway.
Some people gradually lose confidence during the test of patience between vaccination morale and Olympic dream.
"In the end, the medical and association delegations will ensure that we are all confused and can hardly concentrate on the matter," said former javelin world champion Johannes Vetter recently to the "Badische Zeitung".
Others are happy to be relieved of this burden.
Athlete spokesman and saber fencer Max Hartung was vaccinated at the beginning of April because he has regular contact with a good friend who is expecting a child.
Pregnant women can nominate two people from their environment for a vaccination.
Heptathlete Carolin Schäfer received the vaccine thanks to her employment with the Hessian police.
“It was like I had been injected with gold.
That gives a lot of security, ”said the woman from Frankfurt.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210421-99-292482 / 2
Message from the DOSB
Recommendations of the Standing Vaccination Commission
Reports of the ARD "Sportschau"
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DW report
Report from Deutschlandfunk
Position paper athletes Germany