At a Berlin news conference, Spahn said he expects the vaccinations will begin about December 27, and because initial quantities will be limited, the first shots will go to people over the age of 80 living in retirement homes, along with staff and medical personnel most at risk of exposing themselves or others to the coronavirus.
Spahn said getting the vaccine out to the general population will take time. He said it will take one to two months to ensure the most vulnerable are vaccinated. He added, “Only then will we be able to consider gradually expanding the offer, within the framework of the law on vaccination.
EU states to start COVID-19 vaccinations from Dec. 27 Reuters 17/12/2020
By Thomas Escritt
BERLIN (Reuters) -European Union states will start vaccinations against COVID-19 in 10 days as Europe tries to catch up with Britain and the United States after what some have criticised as a slow EU approval process for the shots.
The Dec. 27 start date - confirmed by EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, Austria, Germany and Italy - will be almost three weeks after the world s first fully tested COVID-19 vaccination was administered in England.
DAX 30, EU Stoxx 50 May Rise as Investors Await Vaccine Approval 2020-12-17 08:00:00 Daniel Moss, Analyst
DAX 30, EU Stoxx 50, Coronavirus Vaccine, Euro-Area PMIs – Talking Points:
Equity markets continued to climb higher during APAC trade as investors cheered progress in US fiscal aid talks.
The elongated wait for vaccine approval in Europe could begin to weigh on regional investors’ sentiment.
However, robust economic data may continue to underpin regional risk assets in the interim. Advertisement
Asia-Pacific Recap
Equity markets extended gains during Asia-Pacific trade as investors mulled promising signs in US fiscal stimulus talks.
In FX markets, NZD largely outperformed on the back of the nation’s record third-quarter GDP expansion, while the haven-associated JPY and USD continued to slide lower against their major counterparts.
Germany enters tougher lockdown as COVID deaths rise
The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) reported a record 952 deaths in Germany on Wednesday, the country s highest daily death toll since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. The previous record, set less than a week ago, was 598.
Germany also recorded 27,728 new infections as the country entered a stricter lockdown which closed schools and most shops nationwide.
One reason for the surge in deaths could be down to delayed reporting of data from earlier in the week from Saxony one of the worst-hit regions.
The total number of deaths from coronavirus-related problems has reached 23,427. The total number of infections reported by the Robert Koch Institute, the country s national agency for disease control, since the beginning of the pandemic stands at 1,379,238. Just over 1 million of those cases have since registered as having recovered from the virus.
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European Union President Ursula Von der Leyen Wednesday said the EU member nations aim to start COVID-19 vaccinations on the same day before the end of the year as a sign of unity.
In a speech to the EU parliament in Brussels, she said the first vaccines will be authorized within a week so the vaccinations can begin.
“As we have gone in unity through this pandemic, let us start the eradication of this horrible virus together and united,” she said.
The EU’s drug regulatory body, the European Medicines Agency (EMA), is scheduled to meet next week to discuss emergency approval for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. EU member nations have waited as Britain, Canada, the United States and other nations have already approved the vaccine and begun administering shots.