German minister sees COVID-19 vaccine shortage well into April

Germany faces a shortage of coronavirus shots well into April, its health minister said on Thursday, and called for a summit with the country's state leaders to discuss vaccinations as the government faced fresh criticism over the pace of the roll-out. "We will still have at least 10 tough weeks with a shortage of vaccine," Jens Spahn said in a Tweet, adding the meeting should focus on how Europe gets its fair share of shots and what can be done to support the process.

Germany faces a shortage of coronavirus shots well into April, its health minister said on Thursday, and called for a summit with the country's state leaders to discuss vaccinations as the government faced fresh criticism over the pace of the roll-out.

"We will still have at least 10 tough weeks with a shortage of vaccine," Jens Spahn said in a Tweet, adding the meeting should focus on how Europe gets its fair share of shots and what can be done to support the process. A spokesman for Chancellor Angela Merkel said she backed the proposal and planning for the summit was already underway.

On Thursday, Germany's top-selling Bild newspaper described the problem of procuring enough vaccines as a "scandal," while a poll for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung said approval for the government's coronavirus policy had fallen to 49%, its lowest level since the pandemic began. Spahn said he wanted to invite pharmaceutical companies and vaccine manufacturers to a meeting to discuss the way forward, adding he recognised vaccine production was complex and production could not be built up in a few weeks.

On Tuesday, Spahn supported European Union proposals to set up a register of vaccine exports, as tensions grow with AstraZeneca and Pfizer over sudden supply cuts just a month after the EU started vaccinating citizens. Germany reported 17,553 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, bringing the total to 2,178,828, and another 941 deaths. The seven-day incidence rate fell under 100 cases per 100,000 for the first time since the end of October. The government wants it to drop below 50.

Spahn has said that if cases continue to fall, schools and nurseries should be the first to reopen after a lockdown currently due to last until Feb. 14. Germany is also preparing entry restrictions for travellers from Britain, Brazil and South Africa, the interior ministry said, and hopes to decide by Friday as concerns mount about more contagious variants.

"We have to get ahead of the situation," Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said on Twitter.