Vaccine versus infection - COVID-19-related loss of training time in elite athletes

Objectives: To determine the number of training days lost due to COVID-19 and vaccination against COVID-19 in elite athletes.Design: Retrospective cohort study.Methods: The questionnaire on the impact of vaccination and COVID-19 on training plans was filled out by 1073 elite Polish athletes who underwent routine medical screening between September and December 2021.Results: COVID-19 was diagnosed in 421 subjects (39 %), of whom 26 % were asymptomatic. On the 10-point scale, <1 % of athletes had perceived severity of the disease above 8, whereas for 64 % it was 4 or below. Vacci-nation against COVID-19 was administered in 820 athletes (76 %), and adverse events were observed more frequently after the first dose than the second (69 % vs. 47 %). Influence on training (modified or lost) was declared by 369 of 421 (88 %) COVID-19 athletes, and by 226 of 820 vaccinated athletes (28 %). During the observation period, the average number of lost training days was 8.1 for COVID-19 and 2.6 for vaccination (p < 0.001). The cumulative number of person-days lost due to COVID-19 was 1041 versus 295 after vaccination thus, the average loss ratio was 1041/1073 = 0.97 vs. 295/820 = 0.36, respectively, p < 0.01.Conclusions: Athletes have a considerable loss of training days due to COVID-19. Vaccination against COVID-19 causes significantly smaller and predictable loss. This supports the inclusion of vaccination into prevention policies for athletes whenever they are available.(c) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of Sports Medicine Australia. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).