Germany official says coronavirus vaccine won't come sooner than mid-2021
'We should not expect a miracle,' Karliczek said
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Federal German Research Minister Anja Karliczek said a coronavirus vaccine is unlikely to be broadly available before mid-2021, according to a recent report.
Germany approved grants to three biotech companies to hasten vaccine development, according to a Reuters report.
“We should not expect a miracle,” Karliczek said during a conference, according to the outlet. “We must continue to assume that vaccines for the broader population will only be available from the middle of next year at the earliest.”
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Anja Karliczek, federal minister of education and research, arrives at a press conference for an informal meeting of EU research ministers. (Photo by Bernd von Jutrczenka/picture alliance via Getty Images)
Karliczek reportedly said German biotech firms BioNtech, CureVac and IDT Biologika have promising coronavirus vaccine candidates, but setbacks must be expected during the testing phase.
“...It’s one thing to have an effective vaccine but it’s another to have a safe vaccine that people want,” she said, according to Reuters.
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Germany now has more than 209,000 confirmed coronavirus cases, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
The head of the Federal Chancellery, Helge Braun, recently said the country’s rise in cases gives grounds for concern. On Monday, he said that outbreaks in family settings have emerged, along with local outbreaks in meat processing companies.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Though Braun noted that it's too early to make a decision, he is reportedly discussing the introduction of mandatory virus tests for travelers coming from high-risk areas.