Millions of vaccine doses against Corona are thrown away – the vaccines were ordered for free. The lack of demand and the expiry date are to blame.
Berlin – It is reports like this that put Germany’s national vaccination strategy in a bad light: The federal government has to destroy over four million doses of vaccine against the corona virus because it cannot find any buyers for it. According to the Federal Ministry of Health, around 4.6 million doses from the manufacturers Novavax and Moderna in the central federal warehouse would have exceeded their expiration date on September 13, 2022. As a solution, the federal government is currently trying to extend the shelf life of vaccines at EU level.
Apparently what applies to numerous foods also applies to vaccines: the expiration of the expiry date does not automatically mean that this vaccine has actually expired, the ministry spokesman explained. The corona vaccines can still be used, but the current rules require that the vaccine doses must be destroyed after they have expired.
Corona: the federal government must destroy millions of vaccine doses – “currently there is a lack of buyers”
Outside of Germany, there seems to be no need for the overcapacities that have arisen: the possibility of donating excess corona vaccines to other countries is suffering from weak demand. The federal government is trying to pass on the substances – “But the truth is quite simply that there is currently a lack of buyers.”
Meanwhile, figures make it clear what the financial situation is like in the pharmaceutical industry in Germany:
Corona: Vaccination rate is currently at a low level – record is from December 2021
Comparatively few corona vaccinations are currently being administered in Germany: According to the Robert Koch Institute, there were 47,000 nationwide on Tuesday. At the peak of the vaccination campaign, values of more than one million vaccinations per day were sometimes recorded – the record was set on December 15, 2021 with 1.6 million vaccinations.
According to the RKI, 209.5 million doses have been delivered in Germany since the start of the vaccination campaign. Of these, 88.4 percent had been vaccinated by Monday of this week (September 19). However, in light of the Omicron variants, optimized vaccines have recently started to be brought onto the market. (PF/AFP)
