Germany expects vaccine deliveries to ramp up in 2nd quarter

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s health minister is welcoming the announcement by two pharmaceutical companies that they will deliver more coronavirus vaccines during the second quarter than previously predicted. BioNTech, which developed the first widely approved shot together with U.S. partner Pfizer, will provide Germany with an additional 10 million doses by the end of June. This brings the total expected from the company during the second quarter to 50.3 million. The increase in deliveries is welcome news for Germany, which has been seeing a steady rise in new infections lately. In an effort to cut the infection rate, the German government has asked parliament to approve a bill that would give federal authorities greater powers to set pandemic restrictions.