Since Germany’s vaccination drive has stalled, politicians and health experts have had to come up with new ways to make getting a vaccination more accessible and appealing to the public. One such idea is the availability of vaccines at supermarkets.
Germans will soon be able to get vaccinated against the coronavirus while they’re shopping, with companies all over Germany are set to take part in a new vaccine initiative set up by the German Retail Association (HDE). Many large domestic and international companies are set to take part, including Deichmann, Lidl, Intersport, Galeria Kaufhof, Edeka and s.Oliver, among others. The HDE announced that vaccinations will be available “at selected locations” although it is not immediately clear where since vaccines need to be carried out by healthcare authorities. Only locations under the ECE Group, like the Alstertal shopping centre in Hamburg, have been confirmed to be participating.
The campaign has been praised for expanding Germany’s vaccination drive. "The retail companies involved in the campaign have more than 40 million customer contacts every day and are represented at tens of thousands of locations throughout Germany," said HDE Managing Director Stefan Genth.
Federal Minister for Health Jens Spahn also voiced his praise for the initiative. I am very pleased that the trade is committed to the highest possible vaccination readiness and wants to support the federal states and municipalities in implementing low-threshold vaccination offers," he said.