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Government spokesman Steffen Seibert and Federal Ministry of Health spokesman Hanno Kautz defended the federal government’s strategy for procuring vaccines. Seibert told a news conference that the federal government was behind “this fundamental decision.” “We are convinced that this was and is the right path,” he said, adding: “Yes, the impatience and the many questions that citizens now ask themselves are understandable.”
Seibert said that European cohesion had proven to be important, especially in the corona pandemic. How and whether the crown crisis will be fought together will contribute to how the EU is perceived in the world. Reports from hospitals in Germany showed the plight. “Therefore, it remains essential to avoid new infections as much as possible,” he said.
According to the government, the bottleneck is not “order quantity” but “production capacity”
Kautz said there were “enough vaccines for Germany.” »It would not have differentiated if we ordered at the national or European level. The bottleneck is not the order quantity, the bottleneck is the production capacity. A different ordering practice would not have changed that. Furthermore, Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) has already ordered an additional 30 million doses of vaccines for Germany.
Seibert admitted – also in view of the implementation of the vaccination strategy in the federal states – “that not everything is going optimally in all areas”. In this spirit, Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) will also hold talks with the prime minister on Tuesday on how to proceed in the crown crisis.
The government responded to reports in recent days and inquiries from journalists. Critics of politics and science had especially accused the EU of having an incorrect vaccine procurement strategy. Leopoldina researcher Frauke Zipp spoke of a “flagrant failure of those responsible”.
Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) said the EU had ordered too few vaccines and relied on the wrong manufacturers. The scientist and founder of Biontech, Uğur Şahin, told SPIEGEL that he was surprised by the acquisition of vaccines from the EU.
The EU Commission also defends itself against the accusations
The EU Commission defended itself against the accusations. The goal was to create the broadest possible vaccine portfolio, said a spokesman for the Brussels authority. The EU managed to do so “in a context of great uncertainty” and reserved almost two billion doses of vaccines from six different manufacturers. So far, only Biontech’s vaccine has received approval in the EU.
In Germany, 1.3 million doses of the Biontech vaccine have so far been delivered to the federal states. Initially, it will take care of residents of nursing homes and for the elderly, people over 80 years of age, as well as nursing and hospital personnel at special risk. According to the spokesman for the Federal Ministry of Health, 265,000 doses of vaccines have so far been administered in Germany.
The EU Commission spokesperson noted that at the time of contract negotiations with manufacturers, it was not yet foreseeable when and if agents could be approved. “The main point was to buy from different companies.” He also rejected the accusation that his agency acted too late: “We already invested in Biontech long before it was clear that this candidate would be successful.”
