German government, states to hold vaccine summit after EMA decision

A Coronavirus vaccination summit between Germany’s Federal and State Governments would take place on Friday after the European Medicines Agency (EMA) deemed the AstraZeneca jab safe.

The talks would centre on Germany’s vaccination campaign which has been widely criticised for its slow pace and the involvement of general practitioners in the inoculation effort.

The AstraZeneca jab was important with regards to the involvement of general practitioners in the vaccination effort because it does not need to be stored at extremely low temperatures like counterparts from other pharmaceutical companies.

Experts say Germany has entered its third wave of infections, with its caseload , especially cases of the more contagious British Coronavirus variant on the rise again.

The number of new infections per 100,000 residents over the course of seven days rose to 90 on Thursday, having stood at 86.2 the day before, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for disease control.