Assistant professor at the Faculty of Sports and Physical Education of the University of Montenegro, Bojan Mašanović, sent an open letter to the Minister of Health, Jelena Borovinić Bojović, regarding what he said were "the latest research results in Germany, which indicate a dramatically low level of protection of vaccinated citizens over the age of 60, as and to the announced bad trend in the period ahead".
In the letter, he asks Borovinić Bojović "why don't you include daily physical activity as one of the mandatory measures in the fight against the coronavirus - the scientific evidence is irrefutable?"
We transmit his letter in its entirety:
"Dear Minister,
I would like to remind you that the article entitled "COVID-19: stigmatizing the unvaccinated is not justified" was published recently in the prestigious scientific journal "Lancet", and that Dr. Günter Kampf presented very important results, which were determined at the Robert Koch Institute in Germany, which are reflected in the fact that as many as 55,4% of symptomatic cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in patients over 60 years of age who have been fully vaccinated, and that this trend is increasing week by week. Otherwise, the Robert Koch Institute regularly reports on the national situation with COVID-19 infection and the level of vaccination in Germany. In addition, we are threatened by a new strain called "Omicron SARS-CoV-2", for which scientists are still not sure whether it will be resistant to existing vaccines or not!
Although I am someone who is well aware of the benefits of daily physical activity on the human immune system, as well as the harmful effects that were caused by the closure of sports fields, I stayed away, as a silent observer, perhaps for too long, and left it to my colleagues who are experts in the field of infectious diseases to take the lead in defense against new infections. A lot of time has passed since the advent of vaccines, every day we come across information in the electronic and print media that calls to citizens to get vaccinated are not the most effective, which, perhaps, makes sense, given the aforementioned data of Dr. Kampf. Therefore, I am obliged to ask you a question with the following content: Why is there not a little more thought about strengthening immunity naturally and preventive measures that will not be able to do anything to virus mutations, that is, new strains of viruses?
Before you answer me, I would advise you to consult several scientific studies. I have already stated that it has been scientifically established that protection from vaccines is lower than 50%, while there are studies that indicate the fact that daily physical activity is equally effective. Namely, in a study published in the prestigious magazine "Sports Medicine", Dr. Sebastien Chastin, together with his colleagues, examined the effects of regular physical activity on the immune system, vaccination and the risk of infectious diseases in the general population, and found that regular, moderate to strong physical activity activity, associated with a reduced risk of infectious diseases and mortality from infectious diseases, and to strengthen the first line of defense of the immune system, as well as to strengthen the effectiveness of the vaccination promotion process.
On the other hand, Dr. Robert Sallis, with his colleagues, examined physical inactivity and its relationship with an increased risk of severe outcomes caused by cases of COVID-19 infection, and they published their conclusions in a study that appeared in the prestigious journal "British Journal of Sports Medicine". A group of authors led by Dr. Sallis points out that consistent adherence to physical activity guidelines is strongly associated with reduced risk for severe outcomes of COVID-19 infection among infected adults and recommends that public health institutes prioritize efforts to promote physical activity, in meaning of including physical activity in daily medical care.
It is generally known that physical activity is one of the most effective ways to prevent chronic diseases (along with diet and smoking cessation), and that physical inactivity is responsible for more than five million premature deaths every year, while the aforementioned studies emphasize that physical activity strengthens the immune system. system, reduces the risk of getting sick and dying from infectious diseases by more than a third, and significantly increases the efficiency of the vaccination promotion process, which can have important implications in the fight against the pandemic. The group of authors led by Dr. Sallis points out that there is convincing evidence that physical activity in the amount of 30 minutes, five times a week, reduces the risk of contracting and dying from infectious diseases by as much as 37%.
In accordance with all the aforementioned facts, I appeal to you and all those who, together with you, make important decisions, i.e. introduce measures in the fight against the coronavirus, to seriously consider the additional promotion of physical activity among the general population in Montenegro, i.e. consider the introduction of mandatory daily physical activities for all ages. Indisputable scientific evidence speaks in favor of such a measure, since, in this way, the number of infected people would be reduced, then the number of citizens with a more severe clinical picture when it comes to COVID-19 infection, but also the number of unvaccinated people would be significantly reduced.
Experts in the field of sports sciences are ready to work for the benefit of Montenegro and to take care of the measure in question," said Mašanović in the letter.
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