Germany to donate 75M COVID-19 vaccines to other countries

BERLIN (AA) - Germany is planning to donate 75 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to low- and middle-income countries next year, the country’s development minister said on Wednesday.

Speaking to local media, Svenja Schulze said that Germany made significant contributions to the UN's vaccine platform COVAX this year, without undermining its own vaccination campaign.

“But we can't stop there. Next year, we are planning to donate at least 75 million vaccine doses,” she told Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND).

The government’s initial pledge for 2022 is about 25% less than what the country donated to low- and middle-income countries this year.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has repeatedly called on rich nations to donate more COVID-19 shots to the COVAX platform to ensure that lower income countries are not left behind in the global fight against the coronavirus.

Germany has donated or contractually guaranteed over 100 million doses to COVAX this year, but so far less than half of them reached their destinations, due to operational and logistical issues.

Around 53 million doses are currently being distributed or prepared for dispatch, according to the German Foreign Ministry.