German minister on J&J jabs, vaccination drive

German Health Minister Jens Spahn on Friday said the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine was "certain" to boost the national vaccination program.

Spahn spoke after visiting manufacturer IDT Biologika, which will help fill and package the single dose Johnson & Johnson shot, in the eastern city of Dessau.

Amid the criticised rollout of vaccines across Europe, the health minister said in his opinion it was "better" if they were produced on the continent.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is yet to be approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), and its use in the United States has been temporarily halted over reports of a very rare link to blood clots.

But Spahn expressed his confidence in the jab and said Germany's inoculation campaign was "gaining speed", with an expectation that 20% of its adult population will have received a first dose of the vaccine within the next few weeks.

Germany recorded 25,831 new cases of COVID-19 overnight Thursday and 247 additional deaths, according to the Robert Koch Institute disease control center.