With the spread of the Delta variant of COVID-19 giving a taste of things to come, Germany is making plans for a huge new vaccine order, to provide booster jabs and protect against new variants in the coming year. 

Germany planning order for 204 million COVID vaccine doses

Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn is in negotiations with six coronavirus vaccine suppliers to procure 204 million doses for 2022. According to a Ministry of Health report seen by the Handelsblatt, the order would be enough for “a little more than two doses per inhabitant… including a safety reserve.” 

The report goes on to say that it is advisable to “secure additional vaccine doses in good time to protect against mutations and [provide] booster vaccinations.” 

The order - which apparently totals some 3,9 billion euros - will be spread across several manufacturers. In addition to the 84,4 million doses ordered from BioNTech / Pfizer, Germany will also be lodging orders with Moderna and Johnson & Johnson, as well as with Sanofi, Novavax and Valneva, whose vaccines are yet to be approved for use in the EU. 

AstraZeneca and CureVac - the German company whose vaccine candidate recently posted an efficacy of just 47 percent - are not included in the mix. 

Concern about protection against Delta and other variants

While the seven-day coronavirus incidence rate in Germany still remains in the single digits, the rapid spread of the highly-contagious Delta variant is causing concern among experts. It is now estimated to account for one in every two coronavirus infections in the federal republic, according to the latest figures from the Robert Koch Institute. 

The situation in countries like Israel and the UK - where cases are once again on the increase, despite a high vaccination rate - has led to questions about the effectiveness of the currently-approved vaccines against Delta and other new variants. 

It is widely assumed that, long-term, vaccinations will have to be continually “topped up”, much like with the annual flu jab, to keep on top of coronavirus. In the UK, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has already recommended that vulnerable people receive booster shots this autumn. 

According to the German government’s vaccine dashboard, 55,1 percent of the German population has now had at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 37,3 percent are fully-vaccinated.