Photo taken on Dec. 3, 2021 shows a sign notifying people of the anti-epidemic rules against COVID-19 outside a restaurant in Frankfurt, Germany. (Xinhua/Lu Yang)
Germany's vaccination campaign had been slow in recent months but is picking up again. At least 57.4 million people in Germany, or 69.1 percent of the population, had been administered the second COVID-19 shot as of Monday, according to official figures.
BERLIN, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) -- Restrictions were necessary, particularly for those not vaccinated, to break the fourth COVID-19 wave, Germany's Chancellor-designate Olaf Scholz said at a press conference here on Tuesday.
Most new infections were doubtlessly caused by unvaccinated individuals, Scholz said.
The German and federal state governments agreed last week to allow only vaccinated and recovered people to visit stores except for essential needs.
An employee checks a visitor's certificate of COVID-19 vaccination or recovery from COVID-19 at an entrance of a shopping center in Berlin, Germany, on Dec. 3, 2021. (Xinhua/Stefan Zeitz)
The new government is expected to pass its first laws as early as this week. On Tuesday, the Bundestag (lower house of Parliament) discussed whether vaccination should be made mandatory for certain professions, such as hospital staff.
Scholz emphasized that "we must do everything we can to protect the health of our citizens, and that will only succeed if as many as possible get vaccinated."
By Monday, at least 14.6 million people in Germany, or 17.5 percent of the population, had already received a booster shot, according to official figures published by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious disease and the Ministry of Health (BMG).
People line up to get inoculated with COVID-19 vaccines at a vaccination station inside a shopping center in Berlin, Germany, Nov. 25, 2021. (Xinhua/Shan Yuqi)
The country's vaccination campaign had been slow in recent months but is picking up again. At least 57.4 million people in Germany, or 69.1 percent of the population, had been administered the second COVID-19 shot as of Monday, according to official figures.
Germany's federal and state governments aim to administer 30 million vaccine doses (first, second and booster) by the end of December.
A staff member (L) guides people to receive the COVID-19 vaccine outside a vaccination center in Frankfurt, Germany, on Nov. 25, 2021. (Xinhua/Lu Yang) ■
