German Chancellor, Merkel, Receives AstraZeneca COVID Vaccine

Matilda Omonaiye & Reuters/

German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, today received her first shot of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine, her spokesman said on Twitter.

“I am happy that I received the first vaccination with AstraZeneca,” the Twitter post quoted Merkel, 66, as saying.

“Vaccinations are the key to overcoming the pandemic,” she added in the quote.

Merkel had said in a March 19 interview that she would not be given any priority in receiving the COVID-19 vaccine but would wait till it was her turn.

“I have always said I would get vaccinated when it is my turn,” the 62-year-old politician told journalists ahead of receiving his jab. “Today is the day.”

Finance Minister, Olaf Scholz, also received a first shot of AstraZeneca’s vaccine earlier today.

Germany’s vaccine regulator has recommended limiting the use of AstraZeneca’s vaccine to those aged over 60, citing risks of a rare clotting condition.

Questions over the safety of the AstraZeneca vaccine as well as another viral vector one made by Johnson & Johnson threaten to undermine public confidence in the low-cost shots, which authorities had been counting on in the fight against a pandemic that has claimed more than 3 million lives worldwide.