Covid-19 is strongly affecting sports again in Europe and the United States

A match without an audience in German stadiums. Games postponed in Premier League and on NBA. Record cases in one day in the professional NFL… the sport is not immune to it COVID-19. The emergence of viral variants, such as the micron, puts everyone on alert again.

In the Bayern MunichThe outbreak began with a lack of immunization. Joshua Kimmish Four other players decided not to vaccinate them. Highlighting the team, the steering wheel has contracted the virus, has pulmonary complications and now has changed his mind. At the same time, the doors to stadiums in the Bavaria region were closed to the public due to an increase in cases.

But immunization did not prevent the outbreak of Covid-19 in the Tottenham and Manchester United teams. The two English teams recorded several cases of the disease and the matches were postponed. United even closed the training center to prevent further spread among the players.

another continent

After leaving Europe for the United States, the NBA’s Chicago Bulls were also affected by the coronavirus. In all, ten players have tested positive, including superstars Zach Lavigne and Demar DeRozan. The Games, as happened in the most difficult time of the pandemic, had to be postponed.

NBA has only 3% of unvaccinated athletes. The most telling case is Keri Irving, of the Brooklyn Nets, who has not played this season for his defense of a team from New York, where vaccination is mandatory for court entry.

The NFL, Monday, recorded 37 positive tests for covid-19, the highest number in a single day since the beginning of the epidemic in March 2020. Among those infected, in addition to players such as Cedric Wilson, of the Dallas Cowboys, a Washington team employee who tested positive It has a micron variable. It is the first known case of this strain in the NFL. As of November 17, in the league’s latest update on the topic, more than 94% of NFL players have been vaccinated and nearly 100% of staff (non-players) have been vaccinated as well.

Explanation

For Romulo Neres, a virologist and physician in immunology at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, cases will be frequent even among immunized players. “The first consideration is that no vaccination schedule will protect a person 100%. Both doses of the vaccine contribute to reducing the relative risk. The booster dose increases effectiveness. The vaccine has never been a guarantee of complete immunity against disease. The efficacy is significantly high and vaccines are beneficial,” he explained. in preventing hospitalization and mortality.

Micron variable progression, according to Romulo Neres, must be fought with a booster dose. The NFL, by the way, cites this scenario in an internal document it obtained ESPN American. The league indicates that players will have to vaccinate again to reduce the risk of contamination.

“With respect to the micron variant, it has a certain degree of escape for the two-dose vaccine schedule. In theory, a person vaccinated with Omicron could become infected more easily than the delta variant. It is still more difficult than with a non-vaccinated vaccine,” the virologist said. The profile reverses with the third dose.

General

The NBA and the NFL, at this time, are not considering closing gyms and stadiums again, as happened in Germany. But virologist Paulo Eduardo Brandao, of the University of the South Pacific, warns that fans tend to stay close in these places and, at times, neglect wearing a mask. Romulo Neres agrees. “Mathematics environments favor this deployment scenario, because they focus a large number of people for a long period of time with a high spread.”

In Brazil, for now, sports cases are still under control. But according to experts, protocols cannot be neglected.