Germany hits vaccination milestone but wary of delta variant

Germany has now given at least one coronavirus vaccine shot to more than half of its population, a milestone in what is now a fast-moving vaccination campaign

BERLIN -- Germany has now given at least one coronavirus vaccine shot to more than half its population but officials urged people Friday to remain cautious and slow the spread of the more contagious delta variant. COVID-19 infections have declined sharply in Germany over the past few weeks, on some days dropping below 1,000 per day for the first time since September. On Friday, the national disease control center said 1,076 new cases were reported in the past 24 hours, and there were only 10.3 cases per 100,000 residents over the past week. After a slow start, vaccinations have accelerated in Germany and everyone 12 and over has been eligible to get a shot since last week. The country is administering more than 800,000 shots per day. Nearly 41.7 million people — 50.1% of the total population — have now been given at least one shot, while nearly 24.7 million — or 29.6% of the population — are fully vaccinated.