Heroes to zeros: how German perfectionism wrecked its Covid vaccine drive

The same thoroughness that made Angela Merkel’s government a pandemic role model is now holding it backCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageIn December, two weeks before the European Medicines Agency authorised the first vaccine against Covid-19 for use across the European Union, Berlin unveiled a plan to rocket-fuel its immunisation drive with German precision engineering. Jabs would be mass-administered in purpose-built vaccination centres where patients could be shuttled through queuing lanes like cars through a car wash.A Lego display demonstrating the complex system’s efficiency impressed journalists at a press launch, but set off alarm bells in the head of Janosch Dahmen, a former doctor turned Green party MP. “It all looked very logical in theory,” says Dahmen, who worked on the pandemic frontline until November. “But looking at it as a doctor, I thought: that’s not how vaccinations work in practice. Continue reading... https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/27/heroes-to-zeros-how-german-efficiency-wrecked-its-covid-vaccine-drive #germany #angela_merkel #coronavirus #vaccines_and_immunisation #europe #infectious_diseases #world_news #health