German Health Minister Jens Spahn has asked people in the country to be patient about the speed of the coronavirus vaccine.
Spahn, who spoke at a press conference on Wednesday, said the first step is to get everyone in need of care and the oldest in the country vaccinated.
He said nearly 400,000 people in Germany had been vaccinated so far.
Figures from the Robert Koch Institute, the national agency for the control and prevention of diseases, show this 367,331 vaccinations were administered, with 150,000 in nursing homes and about 176,000 medical staff getting the chance.
Germany stays behind the UK, which has been vaccinated all around 1.3 million people from Tuesday. But that is ahead of France, which has also drawn criticism over a slow start to the vaccination, and delivered 516 shots by 1 January. The country has since increased significantly, with more than 5,000 doses given on January 5, according to its health minister. Italy has so far almost ruled 250 000 vaccinations.
Spahn added that these were days of confidence for Germany.
But he also said he understands impatience in the population.
The truth is that the vaccine is hardly good worldwide, ”he said.
“That’s why we need to be patient with large sections of the population,” Spahn said, explaining that the situation in the wider European Union or beyond is no different.
Spahn said the reason for the explosion speed is due to limited production capacity.
The good news: there will be enough vaccine in Germany, ‘he said.
Spahn said the hope is to be able to offer a vaccine to everyone in the summer.
“Today we expect a second authorization for the Moderna vaccine,” he said, referring to a pending decision by the European Medicines Agency on the Moderna vaccine on Wednesday.
“We hope to begin delivery of Moderna vaccines early next week.”