German Health Minister: "Currently Administered Vaccines Effective Against COVID-19 Variants"

Jens Spahn, German Minister of Health [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] The German Health Minister stated that the vaccines currently being administered are equally effective against the new variant of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) spreading in the UK and other countries.

Jens Spahn, the German Health Minister, appeared on ZDF broadcast on the 20th (local time) and said, "According to consultations so far between the Robert Koch Institute (RKI, Germany's disease control agency) and European authorities, the COVID-19 vaccines are equally effective against the variant virus," adding, "Therefore, the emergence of the COVID-19 variant will not affect vaccination efforts."

Regarding the emergence of the COVID-19 variant, he expressed "great concern" and said, "We are in close consultation with UK authorities, and if it is true that the variant virus is up to 70% more contagious than COVID-19, the spread will be much faster, so we must delay the virus spreading to the European continent as long as possible."

Minister Spahn explained that, in addition to the 30 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine contracted the day before, Germany has also contracted 50 million doses of the Moderna vaccine, securing a total of 130 million doses of the two vaccines. He predicted, "Next year, everyone who wants to get vaccinated will be able to receive the vaccine."

When asked whether he pressured the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to expedite emergency use approval, he replied, "EMA made an independent decision," adding, "The last contact with EMA was at the European Health Ministers' meeting on the 2nd."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.