Angela Merkel
Photographer: Liesa Johannssen-Koppitz / Bloomberg
Photographer: Liesa Johannssen-Koppitz / Bloomberg
Chancellor Angela Merkel got her first shot of the The AstraZeneca Plc Covid-19 vaccine on Friday, as German vaccination continued to pick up pace after a slow start.
“I am delighted to have received the first vaccination with AstraZeneca today,” Merkel said in a statement released by a spokesperson. “I thank everyone involved in the vaccination campaign and everyone who gets vaccinated.”
Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister Olaf Scholz previously announced that he was also due to receive AstraZeneca’s shooting on Friday, both opting for the company’s vaccine despite possible links to rare blood clots that have caused his use is limited in some countries, including Germany.
Now Germany has administered more than 20 million Covid shots since inoculation began late last year. About 18.5% of the population has had at least one dose and the government has promised to offer at least one initial shot to anyone who wants it by the end of summer.
More than 848 million shots fired: Bloomberg Covid-19 Tracker
“It’s going very, very fast,” Health Minister Jens Spahn said on Friday, adding that the start of vaccination in medical offices, rather than just the big centers, has made a “decisive difference”. One-third of Germans will be able to get their first dose by the end of May, he said.
Large German companies are also beginning to inoculate workers with their medical staff, according to existing prioritization categories, Spahn said.
He said wider vaccination will begin in German companies by the end of the second quarter, another potential boost for the country’s campaign.
Merkel defended her candidacy on Friday greater control over Germany’s coronavirus restrictions to break a wave of “very serious” infections. In statements to the Bundestag, he rejected opposition to a law that would give the federal government the authority to impose local restrictions such as night curfews.
“Vaccination is the key to overcoming the pandemic,” he said in the tweet.
– With the assistance of Naomi Kresge and Arne Delfs