“Athletes should get all vaccinations, not just the one against Covid-19. The role of the sports doctor is crucial because he has the possibility of recommending certain types of vaccinations rather than others in relation to the type of sporting activity. For example, for athletes who practice physical activity outdoors and in contact with the ground it is very important to carry out the tetanus vaccination, while for those who train in water it is essential to undergo vaccination against typhus and cholera. Not only that, athletes who play contact sports, on the other hand, must immunize themselves against hepatitis B: through sweat and wounds they can in fact be contaminated by viral and bacterial agents contained in the blood. Finally, for athletes who play team sports or indoors, for which any contamination can be transmitted through the airways, it is necessary to do all the vaccinations against meningococcus, rubella, mumps and especially against the flu “. This was stated to Adnkronos Salute by Gianfranco Beltrami, specialist in sports medicine and vice president of the Italian Sports Medicine Federation (FMSI) (VIDEO).
Even to participate in international competitions and competitions for competitive (and non-competitive) athletes, the imperative is to get immunized. “International competitions such as meetings, Olympics, universiades, world championships and European championships – explains Beltrami – expose the athlete to serious risks, for which vaccinations are doubly recommended. During these events, the athlete has close contact with other athletes, moves, travels, attends canteens, hotels, large and confined spaces, which represent more possibilities of contagion. And precisely on the occasion of these events there were cases of measles, hepatitis, meningococcus, which affected the athletes but also the entourage of sportsmen, therefore carers, managers, family members included. Therefore the athlete can be considered at all levels to be at very high risk, which is why vaccinations are essential “.
Among the rare side effects of the anti-Covid vaccine there are also pericarditis (inflammation of the membrane that protects the heart) and myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle tissue): this is the fate that fell to Francesca Marcon, 38, a Venetian volleyball player who plays Bergamo. Also for this episode, many athletes are afraid that the vaccine could negatively affect their performance.
“In reality, the athlete must absolutely not fear anything from vaccinations – underlines the expert. If anything, the time for scheduling vaccinations must be correctly identified. For inactivated vaccines, for example, we know that small side effects can occur within 48 hours of administration, while for live attenuated vaccines these contraindications can occur 2-3 weeks after inoculation of the vaccine. For this reason it is necessary to pay attention and ensure that the athlete carries out the vaccination in a moment of rest or in conjunction with longer periods of rest before the winter or summer breaks from sporting activity “.
The FMSI coordinated – as agreed with the Coni, the CIP and the Sports Department of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers and in compliance with the indications of the Support Structure for the Extraordinary Commissioner for the Covid-19 Emergency – the organizational and the related procedures for planning the vaccination plan reserved for athletes who participated in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics.
“FMSI has also activated preferential channels for athletes. Unfortunately, – Beltrami admits – to date, November 2021, there is no register or registry of sportsmen and athletes vaccinated against Covid-19. And it is possible that there may be some athletes who have not yet joined the vaccination campaign. As FMSI we hope to reach a goal, that is, that the cases of athletes not vaccinated against SarS-CoV2 become more and more sporadic thanks to the commitment of all the doctors of the FMSI, of the federations of all the sports clubs and of the promotional bodies “.
And regarding the debate on the mandatory anti-Covid vaccine, Beltrami has no doubts: “It should be absolutely mandatory for all elite athletes, for those who practice activities at a competitive level and for non-competitive athletes. The athlete is often considered a healthy person, free from disease but this is absolutely not true, quite the contrary. Recent research by FMSI has shown that there can be very serious complications from Covid-19 even for athletes, at the level of the cardiovascular system, such as myocarditis and pericarditis. All this happens because whoever does a very intense sporting activity undergoes an alteration of their immune system which exposes them more easily to contract diseases ”concludes the expert.
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