German vaccinators say people are getting aggressive in their bids for COVID-19 shots and trying to jump the queue early.
A Hamburg site reported 2,000 line-jumpers in one recent week alone. They tended to give their wrong age or occupation to get priority, according to Der Spiegel.
Media outlet Report Mainz found thousands of instances across the country. In another common trick, people claim to provide care for two high-priority people, giving them access.
“The mood is becoming more aggressive. Some people are very clear that they are not authorized and still try to get vaccinated,” the Hamburg social authority, Martin Helfrich, told the outlet.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said this week she wants to make everyone eligible for the vaccines by June instead of moving by age groups, citing the need to reopen society without uneven treatment within the population.
Ms. Merkel also broke from President Biden’s plan to waive vaccine patents so that struggling countries can develop generic versions of existing vaccines.
“The limiting factor in vaccine manufacturing is production capacity and high-quality standards, not patents,” the chancellor’s spokeswoman said.
