The federal government will buy more corona vaccine doses for the autumn. Health Minister Karl Lauterbach announced this on Wednesday in Berlin. An additional 830 million euros would be made available in the budget for this purpose. “We rely on a broad portfolio,” he said, given the uncertainty as to which virus variant will be dominant in the fall. “We have to be prepared for all eventualities.”
There is sufficient vaccine for the so-called Wuhan variant such as Delta, said the SPD politician. An adapted vaccine was ordered from Biontech for the Omicron variant. A so-called bivalent vaccine that can work against both variants is now being purchased from the US company Moderna. The 830 million euros would be used for this.
“I have to have so much vaccine that in an emergency I have so much that I can have everyone vaccinated,” said the health minister. The vaccination centers would continue to be funded by the federal government with a maximum support of 100 million euros per month, he announced. “One lesson from the pandemic is: We never want to have too little vaccine again,” said Lauterbach.
