FRANKFURT, Germany: Germany has reached its goal of 30 million additional immunizations against COVID-19 by year’s end, a push aimed at re-energizing a lagging vaccination campaign and countering a resurgence in COVID-19 infections.
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 US and the UK 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 percent of its population, to the end of January from Jan. 7. Currently 58.9 million people are fully vaccinated, or 70.8 percent 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 percent 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.
Germany hits goal in push for 30 million new vaccine shots
https://arab.news/gxpda
Germany hits goal in push for 30 million new vaccine shots
- Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said the 30-million mark was passed on Sunday
- Of the added shots, 25 million were boosters and 5 million were first- or second-time vaccinations
Starting anew: Indonesians in disaster-struck Sumatra hold Christmas mass
- Many in the congregation are still sheltering at evacuation sites after the disaster wreaked havoc on the island four weeks ago
SOUTH TAPANULI: At a church in Sumatra, dozens of worshippers sang hymns at a Christmas mass, gathered together for their first service since deadly floods swept the Indonesian island.
The Angkola Protestant Church, in the hard-hit South Tapanuli district, was festooned on Wednesday with balloons and simple Christmas decorations.
Outside, the street leading to the building was buried under mounds of debris and foliage.
Many in the congregation are still sheltering at evacuation sites after the disaster wreaked havoc on the island four weeks ago.
Churchgoer Krismanto Nainggolan said this year’s Christmas service was “different,” even as he noted joy in the bittersweet moment.
“The feelings are mixed. Every word of the pastor’s sermon made us want to cry,” he told AFP after the Christmas mass.
“But the spirit of Christmas... gave us strength,” he added.
Krismanto lost his house in the flooding, while many of his neighbors were killed.
According to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, 1,129 people died, and more than 170 others are still missing.
While the annual monsoon season often brings heavy rain to Indonesia, this month’s deluge was among the worst disasters to strike Sumatra since a magnitude-9.1 earthquake triggered a massive tsunami in 2004.
In South Tapanuli, churchgoer Mea Rosmawati Zebua said she had not expected to be able to celebrate Christmas this year.
“In past years, Christmas was a routine. Now, (we are) very grateful because God still gives us the breath of life,” the 54-year-old told AFP.
While Christmas mass is typically held in the evening, the Angkola church moved its service to Wednesday afternoon ahead of rain forecast in the evening, pastor Yansen Roberto Ritonga said.
To prepare for the first service since the disaster, the church had to remove towering heaps of mud that had been washed inside.
Soldiers and police had helped clear the debris and driftwood.
On Wednesday afternoon, a man rang the church’s bell before the pastor’s entrance, marking the start of the mass.
Around 30 worshippers, each of them holding a lit candle, sung Christmas hymns.
Yansen said this year’s Christmas served as a moment of “reflection” for the congregation.
Churchgoer Krismanto said that despite the widespread damage and the personal cost of the disaster, he chose to see it as a new beginning.
“Our hopes depend solely on God because we are now starting over... our lives are starting anew,” he said.
