Coronavirus
This week has brought yet more difficulties with COVID-19 vaccine rollout in Germany, as the EU wrangled with drug companies to try and get them to fulfil their promised doses. Supply chain issues are now expected to leave the EU behind by 10s of millions of doses in the first quarter of 2021.
Germany's vaccine committee has also expressed concern this week over the Astra-Zeneca vaccine, claiming that there is insufficient data to prove efficiency in the over-65s. As a result, national concern has further risen over Germany's vaccine rollout strategy, causing Health Minister Spahn to call for a federal summit to convene on the issue.
Politics
Despite attempts to appear less radical, Germany's far-right 'Alternative for Germany' party ('Alternative für Deutschland', 'AfD') is now facing the prospect of being put under national surveillance on the suspicion of right-wing extremism.
Whilst some organisations within the AfD are already under surveillance, a leaked internal report has indicated that security agencies are currently considering whether they have grounds to monitor the entire party, which could potentially lead to the AfD being banned on constitutional grounds.