Germany says EU agency will OK coronavirus vaccine by December 23

After days of pressuring the European Union's medical regulator, Germany's health minister said Tuesday that he has received assurances that the European Medicines Agency will approve a coronavirus vaccine by December 23.

Health Minister Jens Spahn told reporters in Berlin on Tuesday he "welcomed" German media reports that said EMA would finalize its approval process of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine by December 23, instead of at a December 29 meeting.

"Our goal is an approval before Christmas," Spahn said. "We want to still start vaccinating this year."

Asked afterward by The Associated Press whether he had received direct confirmation that the vaccine would be approved by then, Spahn said he had, "otherwise I wouldn't have said that."

He added, however, "the EU has to announce it."

Spahn would not say from whom he had received the...