BERLIN, June 16 — Germany is on track to have given at least a first Covid-19 vaccine to more than half of the population this week and will be able to offer a vaccine to everybody who wants one by the end of July or early August, the health minister said today.

Jens Spahn said the expected delivery of more vaccines mostly from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna should mean that Germany can offer a shot to everybody who wants one in the coming two months.

The demand for vaccinations will decline from September, Spahn said. The government is still ready to help the federal states finance vaccination centres beyond the end of September, he said, even though it is unclear when booster shots for the elderly will start.

While Germany’s vaccination campaign was initially sluggish, it has ramped up in recent weeks and infections have fallen rapidly, allowing the government to lift lockdown measures. — Reuters