* Merkel, state leaders agree measures to speed vaccinations
* Germany's vaccination rate lags other countries
* Minister warns vaccinations alone won't contain 3rd wave
(Adds further comments, background)
BERLIN, March 19 (Reuters) - Germany will supply general
practitioners with vaccines and deliver additional doses to
regions on the Czech and French borders as it seeks to get its
campaign back on track following a three-day pause in using the
AstraZeneca shot.
"The motto is vaccinate, vaccinate, vaccinate," German
Chancellor Angela Merkel said after a meeting with the leaders
of Germany's 16 federal states.
Case numbers have been rising in Germany, driven by an
easing of restrictions in recent weeks just as a more
transmissible variant of the virus has spread, underlining the
need to accelerate vaccinations to protect the vulnerable.
The suspension of the AstraZeneca vaccine was the latest
hurdle in Germany's vaccination campaign, which has been plagued
by delivery delays and news reports of side-effects. As of
Friday, just 8.5% of the population had received a first shot,
far behind other countries like the United States and Britain.
"I think we have a good chance of offering a vaccine to
every resident by the end of the summer," Merkel said.
Health Minister Jens Spahn earlier on Friday warned that
vaccinations alone would not be able to contain the third wave
of the pandemic as there are not enough doses, and said
restrictions that were lifted may have to be reimposed to
contain the spread of the virus.
"The rising case numbers may mean that we cannot take
further opening steps in the weeks to come. On the contrary, we
may even have to take steps backwards," Spahn said.
Merkel and the state leaders are due to meet again on Monday
to discuss extending a lockdown that has been in place since
mid-December, as well as a reversal of plans to gradually
re-open the economy.
YOUNGER WOMEN
Germany resumed administering AstraZeneca jabs on Friday,
with state leaders saying they were ready to quickly catch up on
lost time.
The premier of the southwestern German state of
Baden-Wuerttemberg, Winfried Kretschmann, 72, received an
AstraZeneca vaccination Friday, in a move to shore up
confidence.
But Bodo Ramelow, the premier of Thuringia in eastern
Germany, said he would not advise his wife, who needs to use
blood thinners due to a risk of thrombosis, to get the
AstraZeneca shot although he would do so himself.
In Germany, eight people were diagnosed with cerebral venous
sinus thrombosis (CVST) within about two weeks of being
vaccinated. They were among the 1.6 million recipients of the
shot as of Wednesday, with CVST cases higher among women.
Spahn said earlier he hoped vaccinations could take place in
doctors' practices from April 19 at the latest, but warned that
supply would remain restricted.
Germany expects to receive 15 million doses of the
AstraZeneca vaccine in the second quarter, a few million fewer
than initially expected, he said.
Spahn also spoke out in favour of signing a supply deal for
the Russian Sputnik V vaccine for COVID-19, but said there
needed to be greater clarity on the quantities available.
Merkel said Germany would consider a national order of
Sputnik, though she would prefer European Union-wide
procurement.
(Reporting by Caroline Copley, Thomas Escritt, Paul Carrel;
Writing by Caroline Copley and Maria Sheahan; Editing by Paul
Simao and Kirsti Knolle)
Astrazeneca (AZN)
