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Chancellor Angela Merkel will be vaccinated with the AstraZeneca coronavirus jab on Friday, German media outlets reported.
The news that one of the world’s leading politicians has confidence in the jab comes as a boost for the vaccine after a rollercoaster few weeks. German authorities are currently only allowing people aged over 60 to receive the vaccine, while reports of rare blood clotting in younger people are investigated.
Media outlets Welt and Stern both reported Merkel, who is 66, would receive the vaccine Friday. A spokesperson for Merkel declined to confirm the reports, according to German media, but noted that the government had said Monday that the chancellor would be vaccinated soon.
Another leading German politician was vaccinated Thursday — European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who has come under fire over the EU’s vaccination rollout.
The Commission president, 62, tweeted out a photo of her getting the jab and another afterward (complete with EU flag plaster), saying: “After we passed 100 million vaccinations in the EU, I’m very glad I got my first shot of #COVID19 vaccine today. Vaccinations will further gather pace, as deliveries are accelerating in the EU.”
A Commission official said von der Leyen had received the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine and was at pains to stress she had not received any special treatment.
The official said the Commission’s medical service gives “the vaccine that most Europeans receive and that has been allocated to it by the Belgian government: BioNTech/Pfizer,” adding: “Before the president, about 2.6 million people in Belgium have been vaccinated.”
On Wednesday, von der Leyen announced that the Commission is in talks to buy another 1.8 billion coronavirus vaccine doses from BioNTech/Pfizer, some rare good news for the EU, which has faced delayed deliveries and safety concerns with vaccines.
On Tuesday, Johnson & Johnson said it was suspending its European rollout, citing reports of blood clotting issues in the U.S.
Countries have taken differing approaches to the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab. Some use it for all adults, others restrict it to certain age groups or, in Denmark’s case, say they will stop using it entirely.
Hans von der Burchard contributed reporting.
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