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Yuri Knorr
Photo: Laci Perenyi / imago images / Laci Perenyi
For handball national player Juri Knorr, a vaccination against the corona virus is currently out of the question - although the 21-year-old will probably miss the EM.
At the finals from January 13th to 30th, 2022 in Hungary and Slovakia, the 2G-plus regulation should apply, recover or be vaccinated and tested.
"I will unfortunately have to bow to this rule," said the backcourt player from Bundesliga club Rhein-Neckar Löwen to "Mannheimer Morgen".
“So if I am nominated, I will not be able to take part in the European Championship.
I very much regret it. "
The backcourt player was infected with Corona in November 2020 and complained about symptoms, the status of "recovered" officially ends after six months.
Knorr distances himself from lateral thinkers and conspiracy theorists.
“I'm not a corona denier,” he said: “It was harder for me than others my age.
That's why I take this disease seriously. "
Will trust in "natural immunity"
Instead of a vaccination, Knorr has been relying on regular testing of its antibodies and its Covid-19-specific T-cell response since his recovery.
"I trust these medically confirmed results regarding my natural immunity beyond six months," he said.
Knorr is aware that "as soon as I should lose my currently medically proven natural immunity, I will have to deal even more intensively with a possible vaccination."
Knorr can only solve his EM problem with a vaccination.
The number of antibodies can drop sharply within a short time after a corona infection.
Knorr did not give any further details about his immunity.
The influence of the omicron variant
A new development must also be taken into account: the Omikron variant.
Researchers fear that the rapidly spreading variant could bypass immune protection.
Initial data from South Africa support this suspicion: Apparently, many recovered people are infected again.
Knorr, son of long-time national player Thomas Knorr, is one of the hopes of German handball with a view to the home tournaments in 2024 (EM) and 2027 (World Cup).
He is considered to be one of the greatest talents in the backcourt position.
Born in Flensburg, he is part of the 35-strong pool of players from which national coach Alfred Gíslason will form his EM squad at the beginning of the coming week.
jan / dpa / sid