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COVID-19

Merkel is hopeful vaccinations will help defeat the coronavirus

By Basil Wegener Deutsche Presse-Agentur

BERLIN — German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday that she hopes that vaccinations expected soon will turn the tide in the battle against the novel coronavirus.

But speaking in her weekly video podcast, she warned that this was not a matter of just a few months.

“After more than nine months of the pandemic, we are now seeing light at the end of the tunnel,” Merkel said, adding that she hoped one or more vaccines would soon become available.

Merkel stressed that massive coronavirus aid from the state cannot continue indefinitely at the current levels, speaking ahead of parliament’s negotiations for the 2021 budget.

“The federal government, the states and the councils have to work together well and constructively to overcome the pandemic and its consequences in the best way possible,” Merkel said in her video podcast.

On Tuesday, the Bundestag, the German parliament, is supposed to debate the proposed budget for next year, over one-third of which is expected to be financed by debt.

The coalition government plans to borrow an additional 180 billion euros ($218 billion) next year, with Merkel defending the increase in debt.

“The costs would be even higher — financially and socially — if many businesses collapsed and millions of jobs were lost,” Merkel said.

She added that in 2021, the state could again spend large sums because of savings made in recent years.

Overall, the state foresees spending almost half a trillion euros and borrowing almost twice as much next year. There are also to be tax cuts for many citizens.

“Then we can defeat the virus step by step,” she added.

If approval is granted within the European Union, the first vaccinations are expected to begin in Germany around the New Year, Health Minister Jens Spahn said on Friday.

Spahn said mass vaccinations could be expected by the summer. “As of today, I am very optimistic that there will be mass vaccinations by the summer at the latest,” he told the news portal t-online.

He said he assumed it will then be possible to vaccinate “nationwide” in medical practices. When asked whether Germany was through with the worst in autumn, Spahn replied: “If as many as possible take advantage of the vaccination offer: yes.”