EU to start vaccinating its 450m citizens from Dec 27

COPENHAGEN • European Union states will start Covid-19 vaccinations in nine days.

The Dec 27 start date - confirmed by EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, Austria, Germany and Italy - will come almost three weeks after the world's first fully tested Covid-19 vaccination was administered in England.

A senior EU official said on Wednesday that the bloc could give its final approval for the vaccine, developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, next Wednesday.

Dr von der Leyen confirmed the planned timetable for the start of inoculations for the EU's 450 million citizens.

"On 27, 28 and 29 December, vaccination will start across the EU," she wrote on Twitter.

Europe is now playing catch-up with Britain and the United States after what some have criticised as a slow EU approval process for the shots.

The spot of good news comes as infections continued to soar on the continent.

Germany yesterday reported a daily record of new cases of more than 30,000, a day after it went under partial lockdown with non-essential shops and schools shut.

Previously considered a European example for effective management of the coronavirus pandemic, Germany has struggled to contain the virus since the end of the summer holidays and the onset of colder weather.

The country's latest curbs will apply until at least Jan 10.

Meanwhile, Denmark will move into a lockdown over Christmas after the country recorded its highest-ever number of daily new Covid-19 cases.

Across the country yesterday, malls closed, while all school-going children who were not already attending lessons online will be sent home from next Monday.

From Dec 25, all shops, except those that sell food and medicine, will be shuttered. The lockdown will last into the first week of the new year.

"The winter months may well be the most difficult," Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said. "To close society down is the most far-reaching decision we can make in response to the coronavirus."

"We're, of course, doing everything" to avoid a prolonged lockdown, but "right now, we need one", she added.

Denmark, which like Germany had previously stood out for handling the pandemic better than most other countries, had already closed restaurants, bars, cafes and gyms in a partial lockdown earlier this month.

But as temperatures dropped and Danes sought one another's company indoors, the coronavirus has continued to spread.

On Wednesday, 3,692 Danes were reported as being newly infected by the virus. That is the highest number recorded so far, with the sudden increase only partly explained by a rise in testing. The spike in new cases is putting unprecedented pressure on the Nordic country's universal healthcare system. Hospital authorities in the greater Copenhagen area have postponed all non-urgent procedures from next week, to free up resources.

The lockdown will take its toll on the economy, Ms Frederiksen said.

"Shutting down the economy comes at a cost," she added. "It did in the spring, and it will now."

Mr Soren Kristensen, chief economist at Sydbank, said he does not expect the latest restrictions to be as devastating to the economy as those in the spring. But he warned that businesses were already worn out.

"In the spring, Danish companies entered the crisis with a very robust economy, but many of the hardest-hit industries are now stretched thin," he said. "The Danish economy now faces the threat of higher unemployment and bankruptcies."

BLOOMBERG, REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE