By Michael Nienaber
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany will stop restricting coronavirus vaccines to more vulnerable groups from June 7, paving the way for the entire adult population to get free immunizations from that date onwards, Health Minister Jens Spahn said on Monday.
The decision to end the prioritization in Germany’s vaccination campaign does not mean everybody will get vaccinated immediately in June, Spahn said, pointing to ongoing logistical and supply bottlenecks.
But Spahn repeated the government’s pledge that every citizen who wants to get vaccinated should get a COVID-19 shot in the course of the summer.
The minister added that authorities were already discussing when and how to allow COVID-19 vaccinations for adolescents between the ages of 12 and 16.
The European Union’s drug regulator, the European Medicines Agency (EMA), is aiming to approve Pfizer and BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine for use children as young as 12-years-old in June, possibly even at the end of this month.
(Reporting by Michael Nienaber; Editing by Riham Alkousaa and Bill Berkrot)
