Vaccines and Power

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, followed by Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, left, arrives for a press conference following a meeting with the heads of government of Germany's federal states at the Chancellery in Berlin, Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021. Merkel said Thursday that people who aren't vaccinated will be excluded from nonessential stores, cultural and recreational venues, and parliament will consider a general vaccine mandate, as part of an effort to curb coronavirus infections that again topped 70,000 newly confirmed cases in a 24-hour period. (John Macdougall/Pool Photo via AP)