BERLIN (GERMANY) – The availability of a vaccine against the coronavirus would be a game changer for Germany’s economy, as it would boost growth significantly, the head of the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW) said on Tuesday.
Gabriel Felbermayr told, “An effective vaccine with few side effects changes everything.”
An aggressive second wave of infections and a new partial lockdown had cast doubts on the growth outlook in Germany.
Germany has closed bars, restaurants, cinemas and gyms for a month until the end of November. Schools and shops remain open under certain conditions.
Felbermayr said if a vaccine could help safeguard groups of people found to be weak, many cultural activities could start again and restaurants and hotels could re-open. It would be possible for restrictions to be relaxed as much as over the summer, he said.
Once 50-60% of the German population are vaccinated, all restrictions could be lifted, Felbermayr said.
The IfW expects per capita income in Germany to grow by 4-5% once the pandemic can be brought under control.
That assumption now seems to be increasingly realistic, according to Felbermayr.
“A precondition is that the vaccine can actually be produced and administered to many hundreds of million people worldwide,” he said.