Status: 04/11/2022 15:11
Excess doses of the corona vaccine threaten to expire in Germany instead of going to poorer countries. According to the Federal Ministry of Health, the international initiative Covax is no longer accepting donations.
By the end of June, there is a risk that around three million doses of the corona vaccine will be destroyed in Germany. The number was given by a spokesman for the Ministry of Health in Berlin. Currently, there is more vaccine available than is used and can be donated. The international vaccine initiative Covax, for example, is no longer accepting donations. “So there is a risk that the vaccine will be scrapped,” the spokesperson said.
Vaccines are difficult to transport and handle. The international anti-pandemic initiative ACT-Accelerator is trying to help countries establish appropriate logistics. However, demand must also exist, the ministry spokesman said. It was “much less than what would be good”. According to the Federal Foreign Office last week, Germany has so far donated around 104 million doses of the corona vaccine, mostly through the Covax initiative.
No costs mentioned
The Ministry of Health spokesperson called it good news that BioNTech’s vaccine can now be stored longer. Therefore, by the end of June, it is not assumed that ten, but three million cans will have to be destroyed.
The spokesman did not comment on the cost of the destroyed cans. This would allow conclusions to be drawn about unannounced prices. Initially, the ministry responded to a request from the union faction in the Bundestag that more than ten million cans could arrive by the end of June. The “Welt” had reported over the weekend about the possible destruction of vaccines “in not a few cases”.
677 million doses ordered
According to the Ministry of Health, Germany had 77 million doses of the corona vaccine in stock as of April 4. For the period between 2021 and 2023 there were and are orders for a total of 677 million cans.
According to the Federal Health Ministry’s vaccination panel, only a few tens of thousands of doses per day have been administered recently. Last December, there were sometimes over a million vaccinations a day.