Bayern Munich take necessary steps to avoid further vaccination controversy
The final few months of 2021 witnessed a lot of debate surrounding the vaccination situation in the current squad of Bayern Munich. The Bundesliga champions also saw numerous players missing games after contracting COVID or getting in contact with people testing positive for the virus.
Things started heating up when Joshua Kimmich admitted about not taking a vaccination after a Bundesliga game. The German midfielder wanted to know more about the long-term effects of the vaccination.
Kimmich’s comments attracted a lot of debate in the German media. The central midfielder was heavily criticised for his stance about not taking the vaccine. In the meantime, Kimmich also had to isolate for a couple of weeks after he came in contact with the person who was tested positive for COVID.
The German international eventually attracted the virus and missed games during December. Kimmich also developed severe lung congestion due to COVID, which eventually extended his time out. He is set to make his return to action after the winter break.
The German international has also decided to take the vaccination and does regret not taking it earlier. Meanwhile, other unvaccinated players in the squad, such as Jamal Musiala and Serge Gnabry, have also been vaccinated. Both players had to isolate for a few days in November after coming in contact with a person testing positive for COVID.
Apart from the issue of having non-vaccinated players in the squad, there was also outrage in Germany after the club’s wage policy was leaked to the media. Die Roten had decided to not pay wages for the amount of time non-vaccinated players had to quarantine. The Bavarian club respected every player’s opinion on vaccination, but they kept on encouraging them to get vaccinated.
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Die Roten is now making sure that there is no repeat of a saga similar to Kimmich during the second half of the season. The defending Bundesliga champions confirmed on Thursday that players and staff took their booster shot during the winter break. Moreover, the club is going to intensify testing routines as the omicron variant of COVID continues to create havoc across the globe.
Rekordmeister will be hoping that players will not miss games due to COVID during Ruckrunde. After the whole Kimmich-vaccination saga, most of the squad is vaccinated, so it bodes well for the availability of players during the second half of the season. Moreover, the club hierarchy will also hope to see fans back at Allianz Arena after games behind closed doors returned in December due to a spike in cases.