|
 "But it remains true, and we have always said, that the cold winter
months, in which we spend more time indoors, will be the harder
part. That actually applies until the end of winter," Jens Spahn
told public broadcaster Deutschlandfunk.
German authorities are preparing special vaccination centres due to
be ready in mid-December even though a vaccine will probably not be
available by that time, Spahn added.
Health workers will vaccinate people with mobile teams and at
vaccination centres since a candidate developed by Biontech and
Pfizer needs to be stored at -70 degrees Celsius, Spahn said.
He added that he expects more vaccines, which can be administered by
general practitioners, in spring or early summer. "Once (the
vaccines) are in the normal system, we can manage big numbers," he
said.
Spahn last month said he expects Germany will get up to 100 million
doses of the Biontech-Pfizer vaccine alone.
Nurses, doctors, and sick and old people - who have a higher risk of
serious infection - will likely get the vaccine first.
[to top of second column] |
Germany was widely praised for its response to the first coronavirus wave in
spring, but numbers now are stubbornly high despite new distancing measures
introduced early last month.
Schools remain open but from Tuesday, private gatherings are limited to five
people, and fewer people are allowed in shops.
The official case tally rose by 13,604 on Tuesday to 1,067,473, while deaths
were up 388 to 16,636.
"I'm not satisfied at all. The numbers have to go down. There's no doubt about
that," Spahn said, asking Germans to further reduce their contacts to curb the
spread.
(Reporting by Thomas Seythal; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
[© 2020 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2020 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
 |
