The number of infections with the UK coronavirus variant is doubling approximately every week in Germany, the country's health minister, Jens Spahn, said in a press conference Wednesday.
“We have to expect that this variant could become the dominant one here,” Spahn said.
The Robert Koch Institute analyzed a representative sample of over 23,000 positive PCR tests and established that Covid-19 mutations are spreading fast in Germany.
“The virus variant which was discovered for the first time in the United Kingdom especially worries us,” Spahn said. “Two weeks ago, this variant made up just under 6% of the samples examined; it is now over 20, over 22%.”
For comparison, the incidence of South African variant was much lower, standing at about 1.5%. Overall, the numbers of infections in Germany have been in decline, Spahn said.
Germany is pushing ahead with its vaccine rollout. To date, 3.5% of the population have received a first dose and almost 2% of the population have been administered both shots.
So far, 6.8 million doses have been delivered to health authorities around the country, and by the end of next week 10 million doses will have been delivered, Spahn said, projecting that the speed of the vaccinations would pick up markedly.
Speaking on Wednesday, Spahn addressed the rollout of AstraZeneca vaccine after a bitter spat between the European Union and the drugmaker over delayed supplies as well as efficacy debates.
The vaccine has been approved in the EU by the European Medical Agency, which said the vaccine demonstrated around a 60% efficacy in clinical trials. That was somewhat lower than the efficacy rate of at least 70% -- rising to over 80% after a second dose at least 12 weeks later -- in a wider analysis of clinical trials published as a pre-print in The Lancet medical journal.
The EMA approved the vaccine’s use in older patients as well, in contrast with the evaluation by the Germany's vaccine commission, which said last month it should not be given to people older than 65 years due to lack of data.
Spahn defended the AstraZeneca vaccine amid reports that some people were hesitant to take it, going as far as saying he would take the shot himself.
“One thing is important to me: when a vaccine is approved in the European Union, after a proper approval process, then it is certainly effective," Spahn said, adding that he would be like to be inoculated with the AstraZeneca vaccine when it was his turn.
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The latest on the coronavirus pandemic and vaccines: Live updates - cnn.com
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