EU agency to OK coronavirus vaccine by December 23 - German Minister Spahn

Germany's health minister says he has received assurances that European regulators would approve a coronavirus vaccine by Dec. 23.

Health Minister Jens Spahn told reporters in Berlin on Tuesday he "welcomed" German media reports that said the European Medicines Agency, or EMA, would finalize its approval process of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine by Dec. 23, instead of at a Dec. 29 meeting.

Asked afterward by The Associated Press whether he had received direct confirmation the vaccine would be approved by then, Spahn said he had, "otherwise I wouldn't have said that."

He added, however, "the EU has to announce it."

Spahn would not say from whom he had received the confirmation and the EMA could not immediately be reached for comment on exactly when it would release its findings on the approval process.