Vaccination's Winners and Losers.

With only 6 percent of the population vaccinated for Covid-19 as of early March, Europe has seriously fallen behind the United States with 19 percent of its public vaccinated. France and Germany have performed the worst, with only 3-4 percent of their public vaccinated.

Why such a poor performance, particularly for Germany which historically has prided itself on its ability to be well-organized? German policy strategists place the blame first on the European Union, which attempted to implement an ultra-centralized European approach to the pandemic, and second on Chancellor Angela Merkel's unusual handling of the situation.

The German government was ready to move much more quickly on vaccinations. But the chancellor wanted to show solidarity with the rest of Europe. She insisted that Berlin "wait for the green light from the European Union," as a strategist put it. Others say that the...