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BERLIN, April 16 (Reuters) - German Finance Minister Olaf
Scholz said he was due to receive his first shot of
AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine on Friday.
"I have always said I would get vaccinated when it is my
turn," the 62-year-old politician told journalists on Friday.
"Today is the day. Immediately afterwards, I will receive a jab
of the AstraZeneca vaccine."
According to German media reports, Chancellor Angela Merkel,
66, will also receive the AstraZeneca vaccine on Friday. The
chancellery declined to confirm the reports.
Germany's vaccine regulator has recommended limiting the use
of AstraZeneca's vaccine to those aged over 60, citing risks of
a rare clotting condition.
Questions over the safety of the AstraZeneca vaccine as well
as a similar one made by Johnson & Johnson threaten to
undermine public confidence in the low-cost shots, which
authorities had been counting on in the fight against a pandemic
that has claimed more than 3 million lives worldwide.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, a former
minister in Merkel's government, received a shot of the vaccine
made by BioNTech and Pfizer on Thursday.
(Reporting by Sabine Siebold; Writing by Maria Sheahan
Editing by Gareth Jones)
