Germany to start vaccinations in nursing homes

BERLIN — Germany’s health minister urged for patience on Friday as the country prepares to start vaccinating people against covid-19, saying those most at risk should be immunized first.

Jens Spahn said people in nursing homes would be the first to receive shots on Dec. 27, when Germany expects to roll out the vaccine.

About half of all Germany’s nearly 25,000 covid-19 deaths were in people over 80 years of age, many of them in nursing homes.

Shortly after that, others in the top priority category will be able to get vaccinated, including medical staff working in critical care. Others, including police officers and teachers won’t receive the vaccine until later.

Spahn said Germany, a country of 83 million, expects to receive 11-13 million vaccine doses during the first quarter of 2021, but that the number can rise if further vaccines are approved by regulators.