Minister-President of Germany’s southern state of Bavaria Markus Soeder on Sunday called on European authorities to consider using Chinese and Russian vaccines to ease the current delivery shortage.
“The European supervision authorities should also test the Russian and Chinese vaccines as soon as possible,” said Soeder in an interview with Die Welt.
Soeder said that “the entire legitimation of the corona strategy will depend on how quickly we can get the vaccination problems under control.”
The Bavarian governor, also head of Germany’s Christian Social Union, is known for his strict and practical measures to contain the pandemic in the southern state.
Soeder’s appeal came as Europe is embroiled in an escalating dispute with drugmaker AstraZeneca over shortfalls of vaccine delivery. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is also being supplied less than anticipated.
Many countries in Europe have already delayed or even halted their coronavirus immunizations due to the vaccine shortages.
In Germany, citizens have to endure a vaccination delay of at least 10 weeks, according to an estimation by the federal health ministry.
German Health Minister Jens Spahn also said on Sunday that he is open to the use of vaccines from Russia or China in Germany, as the debate over the availability of vaccines rages on.
“If a vaccine is safe and effective, no matter in which country it was produced, then it can of course help in beating the pandemic,” Spahn told local media.
