Germany’s Vaccine Demand Set to Continue Outstripping Supply

(Bloomberg) -- Demand for Covid-19 vaccines in Germany will continue to outstrip supply for several more weeks as the country nears the milestone of administering a first shot to half the population, according to Health Minister Jens Spahn.

“We are still moving forward at high speed, but I know that demand is still exceeding supply and it will remain the case for several weeks more,” Spahn said Friday in an interview with Inforadio. “But we are talking about weeks rather than months and that means we have good prospects for the rest of the summer.”

After a sluggish start, Germany’s vaccination drive has accelerated in recent months, and company doctors are due to join the campaign starting next week. More than 50 million doses had been administered as of Thursday, with roughly a fifth of the population fully inoculated, according to health ministry data.

As the campaign gathers speed and Germany’s infection rate drops, restrictions are being lifted across the country. Incidence per 100,000 people over the past seven fell below 30 on Friday after climbing to almost 170 on April 26, figures from the RKI public-health institute show.

Spahn said that while Germany’s campaign is lagging Britain’s by three to four weeks, everyone at age 12 years and older should be able to get a first shot by the end of August.

The U.K. has fully vaccinated almost 40% of its population, and the U.S. just over 40%, according to the Bloomberg Vaccine Tracker.

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