Name: Merkel: US, UK speed on vaccines ‘rankles’ but ‘nothing wrong’ with EU approach
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Merkel: US, UK speed on vaccines ‘rankles’ but ‘nothing wrong’ with EU approach

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German chancellor expresses openness to authorizing Russian and Chinese jabs in the EU.German Chancellor Angela Merkel admitted Tuesday that it "rankles" her that other countries are further ahead on vaccinating their populations against the coronavirus, but insisted that "basically nothing has gone wrong” with the EU's approach.In an with German public broadcaster ARD, Merkel repeated her that every interested German will be offered a jab before September 21, the official end of summer, and sought to defend the sluggish pace at which Germany and the EU are administering inoculations.“I believe that basically nothing has gone wrong” with the EU's joint procurement of vaccines, the chancellor said, before adding: "Of course, the question arises: Why is the United States faster, why is Israel faster, why is the United Kingdom faster? That rankles, of course."Yet Merkel rejected criticism that the EU could have had more vaccines to hand if it had invested more money at an earlier stage, arguing that the first available vaccines such as BioNTech/Pfizer would have in any case been limited from the start."The fact is the U.S. has production capacity — Pfizer is an American company, after all — and America exports virtually nothing out of its borders. That means we as Europeans are dependent on our production facilities," which are now being increased at a high pace, Merkel said. She also argued it was right to wait for the European Medicines Agency to issue an orderly approval of vaccines instead of relying on an emergency authorization like in the U.K."That we ordered it together on a European basis was certainly the right thing to do," the chancellor said.Merkel also showed openness to authorizing the use of Russian and Chinese coronavirus vaccines in the EU, pending approval by the European Medicines Agency."Every vaccine is welcome in the European Union," she said. "I have talked with the Russian president about this, we have read today good data from the Russian vaccine,” she added, referring to that the Russian-developed Sputnik V vaccine is 91.6 percent effective in protecting&nbsp;against COVID-19.Merkel said there will be no obligation to be vaccinated but warned that come September, when every German should be offered a jab, refusing to do so could have consequences. "Then maybe you have to make distinctions and say: Whoever doesn't want [to take the vaccine] maybe won't be allowed to do certain things," she said, without naming concrete examples.The chancellor added that plans to loosen Germany's coronavirus restrictions won't depend on every citizen getting a vaccination but rather the total number of coronavirus cases, which she said must be sufficiently reduced so that public health authorities can effectively trace people who have been in touch with infected persons.She warned against opening back up too soon: "An opening for 14 days, where we then come back into an exponential growth [of coronavirus cases], and the intensive care units are again filling up, cannot be the solution. We need a sustainable way out of the pandemic.”Merkel said that Germany is on the right path, with case numbers down thanks to citizens largely respecting the restrictions. Yet she warned that “the only risk we have right now is that the mutation from South Africa or the U.K. could throw a spanner into the works because it’s much more aggressive.”Log in to access content and manage your profile. If you do not have a login you can .

German chancellor expresses openness to authorizing Russian and Chinese jabs in the EU.German Chancellor Angela Merkel admitted Tuesday that it "rankles" her that other countries are further ahead on vaccinating their populations against the coronavirus, but insisted that "basically nothing has gone wrong” with the EU's approach.In an with German public broadcaster ARD, Merkel repeated her that every interested German will be offered a jab before September 21, the official end of summer, and sought to defend the sluggish pace at which Germany and the EU are administering inoculations.“I...

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Merkel: US, UK speed on vaccines ‘rankles’ but ‘nothing wrong’ with EU approach

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