Around 4.6 million doses of the corona vaccine centrally stored in Germany expired at the end of September.
They would have reached the expiration date on September 29, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Health confirmed.
The “Welt am Sonntag” had previously reported.
Among the expired vaccines are around 3.9 million doses of Moderna and around 0.7 million doses of Novavax's later-approved vaccine.
The opposition Union criticized the federal purchasing policy.
Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) “lost every measure and goal when ordering the vaccine,” said CSU health politician Stephan Pilsinger of the “Welt am Sonntag”.
A total of 101 million vaccine doses are currently stored in federal refrigerators.
The Ministry of Health argued that vaccine being thrown away was "a logical consequence of the portfolio approach".
This means that different vaccines are purchased in order to be able to offer everyone who wants to be vaccinated.