(Bloomberg) --
Germany will spend as much as 6 billion euros ($7.3 billion) on vaccinating its population against the coronavirus.
“That's a lot of money,” Health Minister Jens Spahn said at a conference in Berlin on Saturday. Still, the cost of “not getting it under control is higher,” he said.
The cost of drugs, vaccination stations and digital tools will likely be between 5 billion euros and 6 billion euros, Spahn said. By contrast, the nation will likely spend as much as 20 billion euros on November support for restaurants and cafes, he said.
Germany aims to begin mass vaccinations by the summer of next year, Spahn said earlier in an interview with T-Online. European Union nations will probably trail other Western countries in rolling out vaccines, potentially prolonging economic risks from the pandemic.
READ MORE: Germany Can Keep Spending to Contend With Pandemic, Merkel Says
Spahn also reiterated that citizens won't be obliged to get vaccinated.
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