Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said the 30-million mark was
passed on Sunday, the dpa news agency reported.
“We have reached an important milestone,” Lauterbach was
quoted as saying. “We can be proud of that.”
Of the added shots, 25 million were boosters and 5 million
were first- or second-time vaccinations.
The goal was set Nov. 18 — even before new Chancellor Olaf
Scholz was sworn on Dec. 8 — to counter surging daily case numbers caused by
the delta variant after the pace of immunizations had slowed since the summer.
The goal took on more urgency after the highly contagious omicron variant was
reported and began sweeping across Europe.
Daily case numbers have fallen recently in Germany but
officials warn that omicron could quickly send them higher.
Germany’s vaccination effort has had its ups and down. The
early months of 2021 were marked by not enough vaccine shots, which left the
pace well behind vaccination efforts in the U.S. and the U.K. The tempo caught
up during the spring and early summer, then slowed down again in the fall as
case numbers fell.
Currently demand for boosters against omicron and government
restrictions on unvaccinated people entering stores, restaurants and transport
has seen the pace pick up again, hitting a daily record of 1.6 million on Dec.
15.
Still, the German government has had to postpone another
goal, that of immunizing 80% of its population, to the end of January from Jan.
7. Currently 58.9 million people are fully vaccinated, or 70.8% of the population,
according to dpa. The federal disease control agency, the Robert Koch
Institute, said the actual number of those vaccinated could be up to 5% higher
due to gaps in reporting.
Germany has recommended vaccination for all
12-to-17-year-olds and for children aged 5-11 year with pre-existing health
issues. Children 5-to-11 without pre-existing conditions can be vaccinated if
their parents wish. -AP