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by Deborah COLE BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Germany sparked controversy Thursday after launching talks with Russia about purchasing doses of its Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine without waiting for coordinated EU action. The creators of Sputnik confirmed in a message on their Twitter feed on Thursday evening that “discussions” had begun. They said German government officials were in talks with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which financed the development of the vaccine, for an advance […]
BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — A German mayor was suspended by his own city council after it emerged he had received a coronavirus vaccination in January, despite not being in a priority group. An overwhelming majority of 34 councillors voted late Wednesday to temporarily suspend Bernd Wiegand, mayor of the central city of Halle. Wiegand, 64, had previously admitted to receiving the vaccine in January, at a time when it was still only available to older […]
BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Germany’s Bavaria region has signed a provisional agreement to buy doses of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine once it is approved by European regulators, state premier Markus Soeder said Wednesday. The southern state has “signed a memorandum of understanding today… for the supply of Sputnik,” Soeder told reporters in Munich. If the Sputnik vaccine is approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), Bavaria is set to receive around 2.5 million doses […]
BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Thursday received the first dose of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine, just two days after authorities recommended use of the controversial jab only for people aged 60 and over. “I trust the vaccines authorised in Germany,” Steinmeier, 65, said in a statement after getting inoculated at Berlin’s Military Hospital. “Vaccinating is the decisive step on the path out of the pandemic. Use the opportunities available. Join in!” […]
BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Germany is poised to prolong and tighten its partial lockdown into April as new virus cases soar, according to a draft document seen by AFP ahead of a strategy meeting on Monday. Europe’s biggest economy had begun easing restrictions, first reopening schools in late February, before allowing hairdressers and some shops to resume business in March. The strategy meeting between Chancellor Angela Merkel and the leaders of Germany’s 16 states was […]
by Deborah COLE Agence France Presse BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Coronavirus cases in Germany are rising at a “very clearly exponential rate”, a top public health institute said Friday, as the EU’s biggest country debated tightening a shutdown. The vice president of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases, Lars Schaade, told reporters that highly contagious virus variants were getting the upper hand, wiping out progress seen last month in containing the pandemic. […]
by Isabelle LE PAGE and Deborah COLE Agence France Presse BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — An independent study commissioned by the Roman Catholic Church released Thursday has uncovered hundreds of cases of sexual violence allegedly committed by clergy and laymen in Germany’s top diocese. The long-awaited 800-page report on the Cologne diocese found 202 alleged perpetrators of sexual assault and 314 victims between 1975 and 2018, Bjoern Gercke, a lawyer mandated by the Church, told […]
BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Intensive care doctors in Germany warned Monday that the country would need to make an “immediate return” to partial lockdown if it is to avoid stumbling into a dangerous third wave of the coronavirus pandemic. “From the data we currently have and with the spread of the British mutation, we would argue strongly to return immediately into a lockdown to avoid a strong third wave,” Christian Karagiannidis, director of Germany’s […]
BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Germany will soon authorize the AstraZeneca/Oxford Covid-19 vaccine for people over the age of 65, Chancellor Angela Merkel said Wednesday, the same day Belgium authorized its rollout to seniors. The countries — both criticized for the slow pace of their inoculation drives — had previously said there was insufficient data about the effect of the vaccine on older age groups. But both Merkel and the Belgian health minister said recent studies […]
BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday unveiled plans to gradually ease virus curbs in Europe’s top economy, caving to pressure from regional leaders and the public for more freedom after months of shutdowns. Declaring a “new phase” in the pandemic, Merkel said more socializing between households would be allowed from Monday. Book shops, flower stores and garden centers will also reopen nationwide. Further reopenings will be closely tied to local infection […]
by Joseph Schmid with Michelle Fitzpatrick in Frankfurt PARIS, France (AFP) — Already facing a daunting Covid vaccination challenge, French and German authorities are fighting to convince more people that a jab from the pharma giant AstraZeneca is just as effective as others. Stocks of the vaccines from the British-Swedish firm are going unused in both countries despite the desire to end a pandemic that has sparked a social and economic calamity on a scale […]
by Robin MILLARD Agence France Presse GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The World Health Organization on Monday blasted wealthy countries for not only hogging Covid vaccines but in doing so, hindering the pathway for poorer nations to get them too. WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said some rich countries’ direct deals with manufacturers had meant that previously-agreed vaccine allocations for poorer countries, via the Covax programme, were being reduced. The UN health agency chief said […]
