German Health Minister Jens Spahn has asked people in the country to be patient about the speed of the coronavirus vaccine rollout.
Spahn said at a press conference on Wednesday that the first step was to have all those in need of care and the oldest in the country vaccinated.
He said nearly 400,000 people had been vaccinated in Germany so far.
Figures from the Robert Koch Institute, the national agency for disease control and prevention, show that 367,331 vaccinations have been administered, 150,000 in nursing homes and about 176,000 medical personnel receiving the injection.
Germany lags behind the UK, which has vaccinated itself all around 1.3 million people from Tuesday. But it is ahead of France, which has also been criticized for a slow start to vaccination roll-out, with the country administering 516 injections on Jan. 1. his Minister of Health. Italy has almost ruled so far 250,000 vaccinations.
Spahn added that these were days of confidence for Germany.
But he also said he understood the impatience of the population.
The truth is that the vaccine is a scarce commodity worldwide, ”he said.
“That’s why we need to ask large sections of the population for patience,” said Spahn, explaining that the situation was no different in the wider European Union or beyond.
Spahn said the reason for the rollout speed was due to the limited production capacity.
The good news: there will be enough vaccine in Germany, ”he said.
Spahn said the hope was to be able to offer everyone a vaccine in the summer.
“Today we expect a second authorization for the Moderna vaccine,” he said, referring to a decision by the European Medicines Agency on Wednesday on the Moderna vaccine.
“We hope deliveries of Moderna vaccines begin early next week.”