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BERLIN, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Germany has administered only 15%
of the AstraZeneca coronavirus shots it has available,
the health ministry said, as the vaccine faces public resistance
after trials showed it to be less effective than alternatives.
The ministry said the vaccine would be offered to people
that are in other priority groups after saying earlier this week
state workers such as teachers and police would get priority
access.
"Nothing must be left behind," a spokesman for the ministry
told journalists in a regular briefing on Wednesday.
Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman on Wednesday urged
people to trust the vaccine which was developed at Britain's
Oxford University, saying it was safe and effective.
Earlier on Wednesday, Germany's health ministry said it
expected to receive 16 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine
in the second quarter.
That could represent a shortfall from the company's
commitments to deliver about twice that number of doses to
Germany in that quarter, according to a contract with the EU
that was leaked last week.
Reuters reported on Tuesday that delivery volumes to the
European Union were expected to be at half the level AstraZeneca
had contracted to supply in the second quarter.
Germany's 16 million doses are in line with this possible
shortfall. The country was expected to receive about 34 million
AstraZeneca shots in the second quarter, according to a German
health ministry internal document seen by Reuters.
In its statement on Wednesday, the health ministry confirmed
the German forecasts on deliveries, which were not previously
public.
In total, Germany expects 56.3 million doses from
AstraZeneca under the EU contract, which is equal to 18.7% of
300 million doses for the EU.
(Reporting by Riham Alkousaa, editing by Thomas Escritt and
Douglas Busvine
Editing by Giles Elgood and Nick Macfie)
