In Germany, around 3.9 million corona vaccine doses expired between the beginning of December 2021 and the end of June.
This was announced by the Ministry of Health in Berlin in response to a parliamentary question from the Union member of the Bundestag Stephan Pilsinger (CSU), about which the editorial network Germany (RND/Sonntag) first reported and which is also available to the German Press Agency.
Decay at “different stages of the logistical supply chain”
These are vaccine doses from the manufacturer Moderna, which “expired at different stages of the logistical supply chain”, as the answer says.
However, the federal government would only have the data on the expiry if doctors and pharmacies had reported it to pharmaceutical wholesalers.
In total, the federal government had ordered around 134.3 million vaccine doses in the period mentioned.
No can was donated.
The international vaccine alliance Gavi had stated that it was no longer accepting donations because there was no need.
The CSU politician Pilsinger told the RND, especially in times of tight budgets and inflation, the state should not throw the citizens' tax money out the window pointlessly.
Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach (SPD) is sitting on a “growing mountain of vaccine that is in danger of expiring”.
Lauterbach recommends fourth vaccination
Health Minister Karl Lauterbach is meanwhile promoting a fourth vaccination, also for younger people.
The Standing Vaccination Commission (Stiko) has so far only recommended a second booster for those over 70 and some other risk groups.
EU specialist authorities had recently spoken out in favor of a further refresher from the age of 60.
"Medical recommendations from politicians should be made very cautiously," said the health policy spokesman for the FDP parliamentary group, Andrew Ullmann, of the "Rheinische Post".