Bayern star Joshua Kimmich at centre of COVID vaccine debate

BERLIN (AP):

Bayern Munich football star Joshua Kimmich has found himself at the centre of a debate in Germany over the merits of vaccination against the coronavirus.

The 26-year-old Kimmich, tipped as a future Germany captain for his leadership qualities, confirmed on the weekend that he is yet to be vaccinated against COVID-19 because of his own concerns about "a lack of long-term studies" into the effects of the vaccines.

Kimmich said he was still considering it and that it was "very possible that I will get vaccinated."

His comments were welcomed by the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which has consistently opposed measures against the coronavirus, while they led to dismay among those who are banking on vaccines as a route back toward normalcy at a time when infection rates are climbing again in Germany.

"The more people who are vaccinated, the less dangerous the virus will be," Leipzig's American coach Jesse Marsch said yesterday.

Germany's public health institute reported that just more than 55 million people, or 66.2 percent of the population, were fully vaccinated. Children under 12 years old are not being vaccinated.

Medical expert Alena Buyx, president of the German Ethics Council, said Kimmich is "caught up in misinformation. He is very badly advised. This is something that has now spread, and it would be great if he'd used his platform to get better advice to be a role model in this regard."

Buyx added: "It is important to clarify that these forms of long-term effects do not exist."

German government spokesman Steffen Seibert said yesterday that there were "clear and convincing answers" to Kimmich's questions from national and international experts, and that he hoped that "Kimmich lets all this information work on him and then maybe he can decide in favour of the vaccination."

Kimmich's reluctance to get vaccinated surprised many due to his involvement in setting up the "We Kick Corona" fundraising campaign with Bayern and Germany teammate Leon Goretzka in March 2020. Together they raised millions for social and charitable organisations to continue working during the pandemic, while some of that money also went to medical associations.

"We also donated to UNICEF, who made vaccines available. The point was that there are also countries that do not have access to vaccines," Kimmich said last Saturday after Bayern's win over Hoffenheim. "I think everyone should make the decision for themselves and it cannot be that someone has no access. Because if you make the decision to do so, then you should do everything you can to ensure that they can get the vaccine."

The player denied being opposed to vaccines.