Health minister tells Germans: Get vaccinated or get COVID

By FRANK JORDANS
Associated Press

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s health minister says the rapid rise in coronavirus cases means it’s likely everyone in the country who isn’t vaccinated will have caught COVID-19 by the end of the winter, and some of those will die. Official figures showed more than 30,000 newly confirmed cases in Germany over the past 24 hours. Hospitals have warned that ICU capacities are nearly exhausted, with some patients having to be transferred to other clinics far away. Health Minister Jens Spahn urged Germans to get vaccinated, including with booster shots if their first round of inoculation occurred more than six months ago, to reduce the risk of serious illness. Spahn expects the European Union to approve vaccines against COVID-19 for children aged 5-11 at the end of the week.