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Top athletes first?

The subject of vaccination also raises important questions for world sport - ethical, moral, economic.

Vaccination is an important building block for the success of the Olympic Games in Tokyo and the European Football Championship next summer.

Vaccinating top athletes and professional footballers against the coronavirus is therefore controversial and sensitive.

"I find it problematic that athletes are vaccinated first so that they can pursue professional sport," said the SPD health politician Karl Lauterbach.

When setting priorities for vaccination, one had to rely on the recommendations of the ethics councils and the standing vaccination committees.

Nevertheless, it seems questionable to him "that we athletes have to vaccinate and older unvaccinated people still get sick and fight for their lives," said the 57-year-old doctor.

The spokesman for the central associations agrees.

"I have a 91-year-old father and I hope that he will be one of the first to receive the vaccine," said Ingo Weiss: "The sport has to be behind it."

SPD health politician Karl Lauterbach

Source: dpa-infocom GmbH

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The majority of German citizens share this view.

66 percent are against preferred corona vaccinations for athletes, 19 percent are in favor.

This was the result of a representative survey by the opinion research institute YouGov among 2045 respondents.

15 percent did not provide any information.

"I will get vaccinated"

“We have the dream of going to the Olympics.

Nevertheless, what is most important for society should remain in the foreground, ”emphasized the gymnast Elisabeth Seitz.

For them, it is important that no risk groups or doctors and hospital staff are disadvantaged: “You should stand in front of us athletes.” In addition, the Olympic fourth on the uneven bars of Rio 2016 would like to know “all risks and side effects” beforehand.

"Vaccination is not bad," said her gymnastics colleague Marcel Nguyen.

"I still don't want to be the first to try it out."

Other athletes, especially Max Hartung, have fewer concerns.

“I will be vaccinated,” announced the chairman of Athleten Germany and Saber Fencer.

The six-time Olympic dressage rider, Isabell Werth, will also "do it immediately".

The vaccination is of "great importance" for table tennis ace Dimitrij Ovtcharov.

“Not just in relation to sport, but in relation to the whole pandemic situation,” he said.

If possible, he plans to “get vaccinated very soon”.

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Boxer Nadine Apetz is also in favor of vaccination, but currently sees no need for herself.

"Since I am one of the athletes who was already infected with Corona, I still have antibodies in me," reported the multiple World Cup and European Championship third.

Therefore, she does not know whether vaccination is currently useful.

Table tennis player Dimitrij Ovtcharov wants to get vaccinated as quickly as possible

Source: dpa-infocom GmbH

Wrestler Frank Stäbler, who was also infected, has similar thoughts.

According to his doctors, he currently has strong antibodies and is not a threat to others.

"But I believe that the vaccination certificate should be a door opener at airports, in hotels or wherever we move around the world," he said.

"If it is necessary to realize my Olympic dream without further major obstacles, I would of course get vaccinated."

"Then the pandemic is increased again"

But it is questionable whether every Olympic starter wants to be vaccinated.

"I think there are some athletes who don't want to do that," said Turner Andreas Toba.

“Then the question is: what do you do with the athletes?

Are you not allowed to go to the Olympic Games because you have not been vaccinated? "

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There will be no compulsory vaccination for the Tokyo Games from July 23 to August 8, assured Thomas Bach.

However, the President of the International Olympic Committee is sure to benefit from rapid tests and vaccinations in organizing safe games.

“Vaccinations are not a panacea,” he said.

"I could imagine that there will be a rule that you can only start if you have been vaccinated," said Gesa Kraus.

In competitive sport you have to come to terms with things that can be discussed.

"My overriding goals are higher than that," said the European obstacle course champion.

You see yourself as part of the process: "I am not terribly afraid in times of corona, because I am a positive-thinking person."

The sports sociologist Gunter Gebauer sees, regardless of the vaccination problem, against the background of the corona pandemic, there is generally a considerable risk for hosting the Tokyo Games.

"With 10,000 athletes in the Olympic Village, the source of danger is enormous," he said.

"If that is not manageable, it is surely better to skip the games than to organize something like a super super spreader."

Because afterwards everyone would go home all over the world - "and then the pandemic is increased again, if a pandemic can be increased at all".