A rising number of Germans are not showing up for Covid-19 vaccination appointments, prompting calls for fines to be imposed as Germany races to get shots in arms to counter the rapid spread of the more infectious Delta variant, Reuters reports.

Mario Czaja, head of the Berlin Red Cross, said five to 10 per cent of people were skipping appointments at the city's vaccination centres — with second doses particularly affected — up from a no-show rate of less than 0.5pc at the start of the year.

With around 15,000 vaccinations planned per day at the centres, the number of wasted appointments is having a “massive effect on Berlin's vaccination coverage”, Czaja told Deutschlandfunk radio.

People might be skipping second shots because they have been vaccinated by their family or company doctor, or may be on holiday, Christian Fuellers, medical director of a vaccination centre in North Rhine-Westphalia, told ARD television.

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