German Chancellor Promises COVID-19 Vaccinations For All German Citizens At The End Of Summer

Vaccine illustration. (Steven Cornfield / Unsplash)

JAKARTA - German Chancellor Angela Merkel has rejected criticism of her government regarding the slow launch of vaccinations. Merkel said the government had clear reasons for this.

Nevertheless, Merkel said that she remains committed to fulfilling her government's promise, namely to provide COVID-19 vaccinations for all German adults by the end of the third quarter of this year.

He explained that the government chose to get standard approval, rather than emergency approval regarding the use of vaccines. The reason is to ensure the safety and benefits of vaccines in order to gain public trust.

"The road has been slower at some points, but I think there are good reasons for this," he told reporters after meetings with state leaders and representatives of pharmaceutical companies and the European Commission.

It is known that the civil service and governments of the European Union countries have drawn harsh criticism, because they are considered sluggish in the problem of vaccination against COVID-19, compared to Britain, Israel and the United States. Moreover, the producers also cut the number of vaccines sent.

But Merkel believes that if the Johnson & Johnson and CureVac vaccines they ordered don't arrive (in time), Germany will be able to give every adult an injection by the end of summer. However, not yet for children, because no vaccine has yet been approved for children.

He added, there are no certain conditions in dealing with the corona virus. The new variant of the virus, according to him, could change what was planned. Even so with vaccination, whether it needs to be done every year or a certain period of time is not clear either.

"If, for example, a mutant appears where the vaccine doesn't work, then we start all over again," he added.