Germany agreed to spend 750 million Euro on a program to develop and distribute vaccines, Research Minister Anja Karliczek announced.

Around half a billion euros will go towards extending the trial capacities in Germany, and the rest of the money to developing production capacity. The announcement comes following a cabinet meeting led by Chancellor Angela Merkel.

“As soon as a vaccine is found and approved, production must be able to start quickly on a large scale both here in Germany and worldwide. Vaccine development is the key to returning to normal life. A primary goal of the new funding program is to allow clinical trials to work with a larger number of participants from the start. Medical personnel or other essential workers could be included in the tests on a voluntary basis”, - Karliczek said.