You are here

Not enough vaccine in Europe to stop third wave, warns German Health Minister

Primary tabs

There is not enough Covid-19 vaccine in Europe to stop the third wave of coronavirus infections, German Health Minister Jens Spahn said on Friday.

Speaking at a weekly news conference, Sphan warned his country may have to reimpose some restrictions to slow the spread of the virus.

"The rising case numbers may mean that we cannot take further opening steps in the weeks to come. On the contrary, we may even have to take steps backwards," he said.

Infections in Germany are rising, as they are across much of Europe.

The country reported 17,482 new cases earlier on Friday. It has resumed its rollout of the AstraZeneca vaccine, after pausing its use earlier in the week.

ALSO SEE: Germany weighs longer COVID lockdown amid 'exponential' rise

... Health Minister Jens Spahn said

Spahn said such a wave could not be stopped by vaccinations alone, amid a sluggish rollout of the shots across the EU as a whole.

"There are not yet enough vaccine doses in Europe to stop the third wave by vaccination alone," says Spahn. "Even if the deliveries from EU orders come reliably, it will still take a few weeks until the risk groups are fully vaccinated."

Spahn said he would be in favor of signing a national supply deal with Russia for its Sputnik V vaccine for COVID-19. ...

Country / Region Tags: 
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 
Groups this Group Post belongs to: 
howdy folks