Prologue:
The story of the botched vaccination start in Germany cannot be understood without a serious mistake that happened at the beginning of the corona pandemic: the export ban on masks.
On March 3, 2020, French President Emmanuel Macron banned the export of breathing masks and other medical devices that were then in short supply all over the world.
Panic broke out in the federal government, the crisis team initiated a German export ban based on the French model - the Ministry of Economic Affairs issued a corresponding decree under pressure from Jens Spahn's Ministry of Health.
As a result, the Italian hospitals could no longer be supplied, in which the staff sometimes struggled for the lives of intensive care patients without protective clothing.
The outrage in southern Europe was great.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen apologized to Italy on behalf of Europe.
Merkel and von der Leyen drew the conclusion from the mask disaster: When vaccinating, things have to be different.
This time Europe has to prove itself as a whole.