Germany orders 4 million Novavax, 11 million Valneva shots

The Novavax shots will arrive in the country in January, Lauterbach told a news conference. "An offensive booster campaign is our most important building block in the fight against Omicron," the health minister said.

Germany has ordered four million doses of the newly approved vaccine Novavax and 11 million doses of the new Valneva shot, which is waiting for marketing authorisation, German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said on Wednesday. The Novavax shots will arrive in the country in January, Lauterbach told a news conference.

"An offensive booster campaign is our most important building block in the fight against Omicron," the health minister said. According to Lothar Wieler, president of Germany's Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases, Omicron will be responsible for most coronavirus infections in Germany within three weeks.

"Christmas should not become the spark that starts the Omicron blaze," RKI chief Lothar Wieler told the same news conference, adding people should limit contacts to an absolute minimum.