The vaccine rollout in Germany is picking up speed. On Wednesday, a record 1,1 million people received their jabs in the federal republic, a new daily record in Europe. 

1,098 million people vaccinated on Wednesday

For the first time since the beginning of the vaccination campaign, more than a million people in Germany have been vaccinated against COVID-19 in one day. A total of 1,098 million doses were administered in vaccination centres and GP practices across the country on Wednesday, Health Minister Jens Spahn announced. This corresponds to one percent of the total population. 

“That shows how much we’ve gained speed,” Spahn said of the uptick in vaccination pace. 

So far, only countries like China, India and the United States have managed to top that daily vaccination rate. Up until Wednesday, the record for the highest number of jabs within 24 hours was held by the United Kingdom, where 874.000 doses were administered on March 20. 

Someone is vaccinated in Germany every seven seconds

According to the federal government’s vaccination dashboard, 26,9 percent of the population have now received at least one vaccination dose, while 7,7 percent are fully vaccinated. Currently, seven people receive a jab in Germany every second. 

The increase in pace has been greatly aided by the country’s general practitioners joining the vaccination drive, after being finally given the green light after Easter. Of the inoculations carried out on Wednesday, 729.025 alone were administered by family doctors.