In Germany, the vaccine strategy criticized even within the government

In Germany too, the slowness of the vaccination campaign against the coronavirus is cringe.

The strategy advocated by Angela Merkel is criticized even within her own government, and the controversy swells against the backdrop of political rivalries within a year of a ballot to elect a new Chancellor.

DECRYPTION

It is not only in France that the controversy swells over the slowness of vaccination.

In Germany, a country in the middle of the European peloton with more than 264,000 injections of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine, criticism is intensifying as the country prepares to extend its anti-Covid restrictions.

A grumbling which is based on the slowness of the campaign and on the strategy considered too dependent on the European Union, against the backdrop of political rivalries.

Because nine months before the elections, the candidates for Angela Merkel's succession have an interest in standing out. 

>> LIVE -

Coronavirus: follow the evolution of the situation Tuesday, January 5

A number of available doses that raises questions

It is not so much a logistical problem that makes the Germans impatient as the number of doses available.

They are still too rare for the country to really accelerate its vaccination campaign.

A shame for some, while the BioNTech laboratory is ... German.

Also, Berlin's decision to delegate orders for its own vaccine to the European Union goes badly for them, and the Chancellor finds herself under fire from criticism. 

The daily

Bild

, the most widely read in Germany, is leading a campaign against the government, accused of having "relied too much on the European Union" to obtain vaccines, and of favoring the only product Pfizer / BioNTech to the detriment of the Moderna vaccine.

We see the emergence of a form of vaccine nationalism, an "us first" that Angela Merkel's entourage tries to counter by explaining that the competition between European countries would have led to imbalances within the Union, and ultimately sealed the common economic bill. 

CORONAVIRUS ESSENTIALS

> Covid-19 vaccines: what do we really know about their side effects?

> What do we know about "long Covid", these patients who are going through hell?

> These three facets of the coronavirus that you may not have heard of

> When are we in contact?

And other questions that we ask ourselves every day

> Coronavirus: the 5 mistakes not to make with your mask

A controversy that swells even within the majority

And the controversy escalates even within the German government.

Vice-Chancellor and Social Democratic candidate Olaf Scholz thus sent his colleague from Health, the conservative Jens Spahn, a list of questions on the vaccine strategy.

"Why has the European Commission ordered so few vaccine doses in advance? And why parts of the doses not claimed by the EU (...) were not ordered for the Germany? ”He asks in particular.

"It is still right from my point of view to have taken and to take this European path", retorts the Minister of Health, promising a supply for all Germans by the summer. 

But in the meantime, the contamination figures remain high with 1.787 million cases recorded since the start of the pandemic, for more than 35,000 deaths.

And if the curve has eased with the closure of stores and schools in mid-December, these measures are expected to be extended or even toughened, probably until January 31.

Shops - with the exception of food stores -, restaurants, bars and cultural venues should therefore keep their doors closed in the coming weeks.

The areas of authorized travel from his home could also be limited, a drastic measure in Germany.

"There is little room for relaxation," sums up government spokesman Steffen Seibert. 

Cited as an example before the summer, Germany, where an anti-mask movement has emerged mixing vaccine refractors, followers of conspiracy theories and far-right activists, has not managed since September to take effective measures.

Angela Merkel, whose popularity remains very high with less than a year of leaving the Chancellery, has not been able to impose stricter measures on regions worried about the loss of economic activity.

The Chancellor is due to meet the 16 regional states this afternoon.