BERLIN — Germany’s health minister says there will be a delay of several days between the first coronavirus vaccine being approved in the European Union and the start of the immunization campaign.

German officials say they expect to begin vaccinating people on Dec. 27, based on current information about the status of the approval process before the European Medicines Agency and the planned shipment of doses across the bloc.

The agency has said it will hold a meeting Monday to consider the vaccine made by German company BioNTech and its U.S. partner Pfizer, which has already been approved in Britain, the United States and elsewhere.

Health Minister Jens Spahn says those over age 80 would receive the vaccine first, along with people living and working in nursing homes.