Germany ‘optimistic’ about coronavirus vaccine soon

German Health Minister Jens Spahn said on Thursday he expected there will be a coronavirus vaccine in the near future. 

“I’m optimistic that in the next months, and certainly in the next year, there can be a vaccine,” Spahn told German public broadcaster ZDF, but declined to specify the month the vaccine would be ready. 

“One thing we can say is that thanks to us all working together  — researchers, scientists, the public  — we will probably have a vaccine faster than ever before in the history of humanity,” he added.

His comments come just after the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), Germany’s public health agency, withdrew a report claiming there would be a vaccine by autumn this year.

The RKI later said the report was not up-to-date and had been published by mistake.

German Research Minister Anja Karliczek has previously said no vaccine would be available before the middle of next year.

Spahn also voiced concerns over Russia’s “Sputnik V” COVID-19 vaccine, the world’s first regulatory approved vaccine for the virus. Spahn warned Russia had not carried out sufficient broad testing and that there was relatively little data available on the vaccine. 

More to come…

mvb/rt (dpa, Reuters)

Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/germany-optimistic-about-coronavirus-vaccine-soon/a-54548844?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf