Covid-19

Omicron-adapted vaccine to be in use in Germany from September

17.04.2022, 15:05

A vaccine adapted to the Omicron variant of the coronavirus will start being administered across Germany in September, according to Health Minister Karl Lauterbach.

A vaccine adapted to the Omicron variant of the coronavirus will start being administered across Germany in September, according to Health Minister Karl Lauterbach.

"We are getting a vaccine that protects against the Omicron variants - we expect that in September," Lauterbach told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

Lauterbach said the fact that new variants were continually emerging made it "increasingly difficult for us to prepare for the mutations."

"It is quite possible that we will get a highly contagious Omicron variant that is as deadly as Delta. That would be an absolute killer variant," he said.

Germany's national seven-day incidence dropped below 1,000 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants this week for the first time since January.

The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) reported 876.5 new infections per 100,000 people on Saturday, a significant drop from Friday's average of 1001.5.