Jens Spahn

The fallout over the AstraZeneca jab persisted on April 8 with several countries halting its use among younger people, as nations raced to secure much-needed vaccines in the face of fresh virus surges.

German health officials agreed on March 30 to restrict the use of AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine in people under 60, amid fresh concern over unusual blood clots reported in a tiny number of those who received the shots.

Germany approved three COVID-19 tests for home use as part Health Minister Jens Spahn's strategy to help Europe's biggest economy emerge from a lockdown that has been in place since mid-December.

There's probably not much German Chancellor Angela Merkel's government would like to adopt from Donald Trump presidency, but the treatment the former U.S. president received when diagnosed with Covid-19 last year appears to have caught her attention. 

The quiet intervention of two Thessaloniki-born men recently ended up in Europe's favor, with 300 million additional vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech being earmarked for the Old Continent.

Germany has announced that all arrivals arriving from risk areas (which include Bulgaria) will have to undergo a coronavirus test upon entering the country, beginning on Saturday. DW explains what this means for travelers to Germany.

Yet, another topic is slowly returning to focus: the parliamentary elections and the departure of the chancellor.

European Union member states will begin vaccinations against Covid-19 in 10 days, Germany said, as Europe tries to catch up with Britain and the United States after what some have criticized as a slow EU approval process for the jabs.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is set to approve its first COVID-19 vaccine on Dec. 23, a German government source told Reuters on Tuesday, putting EU countries on track to start to catch up with the United States and Britain, where immunisation campaigns are under way.

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.