German health minister says coronavirus vaccine could ‘take years’
German Health Minister Jens Spahn warned on Sunday that the worldwide scramble to develop a coronavirus vaccine could take years.
Though there had been a number of promising initial steps, the development of vaccines remained among “the most challenging” tasks in medicine, Spahn told ARD broadcaster on Sunday evening.
“I would be happy if it succeeded in a few months,” he added, but cautioned people to remain realistic. “It could also take years because of course there can also be setbacks, as we have seen with other vaccines.”
An international donor conference on Monday hopes to generate 7.5 billion euros (8.3 billion dollars) for the development of treatments and a vaccine against the virus.
Chancellor Angela Merkel over the weekend promised a “significant financial contribution” from Germany, a figure dpa understands will likely lie somewhere in the hundreds of millions.
Spahn said the fact that each infected person in Germany had been infecting fewer than one another person for some time now was “a good sign that together we’ve made it.”
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He added that 25,000 people were currently infected in the country.
The minister also touched upon Germany’s gradual plan to lift restrictions on public life, and hinted that the government might later this week indicate a future schedule for reopening restaurants. (dpa)
