Germany's Covid-19 vaccination campaign slows down: RKI

Berlin, July 6 Germany's Covid-19 vaccination campaign slowed down as administered vaccine doses decreased by 10.7 per cent to 616,396 during the first weekend of July compared to the previous weekend, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) announced on Monday.

Average daily vaccine doses used in Germany fell to around 702,000, according to the federal agency and research institute responsible for disease control and prevention. At peak times in mid-June, the national average had been over 840,000, the Xinhua news agency reported.

Vaccination centres across Germany are increasingly reporting people not turning up for a second shot and several health experts have called for fines to be imposed if people miss their vaccination appointments without cancellation.

Not keeping the vaccination appointment was "showing a lack of solidarity towards those who want to have an appointment faster," said president of the Berlin Red Cross Mario Czaja, who had initiated the discussion with his demand for a fine of 25 to 30 euros ($29.7 to $35.7) on Friday.

The German government opposed any fines, federal spokesman Steffen Seibert said at a press conference on Monday, appealing to people to cancel unused vaccination appointments to make full use of slots and doses.

Almost 32.4 million people in Germany had been fully vaccinated as of Sunday, bringing the country's vaccination rate to 38.9 per cent, according to the RKI.