According to the Federal Ministry of Health, Germany's options for delivering excess corona vaccine doses to other countries are limited.

International vaccine initiatives such as Covax currently have no need for further donations, a ministry spokeswoman said on Monday in Berlin, according to the German Press Agency.

The problem is that “the global vaccine supply currently far exceeds demand”.

The Federal Republic has therefore already donated more than 118 million units of corona vaccines to a total of 45 countries.

Another five million are about to be shipped.

It had previously become known that more expired vaccines had to be destroyed in Germany than previously assumed.

According to a response from the Health Ministry led by Karl Lauterbach (SPD) to a parliamentary question by CSU MP Stephan Pilsinger, a total of 3.9 million units expired between December 2021 and the end of June 2022.

This was reported by the editorial network Germany.

Accordingly, only the vaccine from the American manufacturer Moderna is affected.

The government had previously assumed that around three million cans would have to be destroyed.

Minister Lauterbach defended his predecessor Jens Spahn (CDU).

Lauterbach wrote on Twitter that he “made no mistakes” when ordering vaccines.

Pandemic must be further contained

EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides fears further corona waves in the course of the year.

The summer must be used to prepare for autumn and winter, according to a letter from the Cypriot to the health ministers of the 27 EU countries on Monday.

"In view of a possible deterioration in the epidemiological situation, it is crucial that we all remain vigilant." The letter is available from the German Press Agency in Brussels.

While citizens are enjoying a well-deserved summer without the restrictions of the past two years, efforts to contain the pandemic must continue.

In the past few weeks, there has been a worrying increase in the number of cases, with more serious illnesses, more hospital admissions and more intensive care unit treatments.

In her letter, Kyriakides refers to several measures that the EU states should take.

These include year-round monitoring of the corona situation and increased vaccination efforts.

The President of the German Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine, Gernot Marx, also believes that a fifth vaccination may be necessary for older people in autumn.

"Should there be a vaccine from October that protects against infection with the BA.4 or BA.5 variants, a fifth vaccination would make sense," says Marx of the "Augsburger Allgemeine" newspaper.

It is important that the corresponding capacities are built up in vaccination centers and medical practices.