Filenews 29 January 2021
Millions of doses of the Pfizer/BioNtech vaccine are at risk of ending up in the trash due to shortages of suitable syringes to use up to the last drop in the vials delivered.
Pfizer had initially announced that each vial contains five doses, but doctors and pharmacists found that the content is sufficient for six doses if a thinner syringe is used to take them.
A few weeks ago, the European Medicines Agency officially gave the green light to take six doses per vial.
The ensuing alarm in orders for syringes from EU countries is already creating shortages in France, Switzerland, Germany and other countries, Reuters reported on Friday.
A typical case is a hospital in Cannes that received syringes too short from the French Ministry of Health to receive the sixth dose.
"It's like Russian roulette. You don't know what you're getting," Lorraine Finion, a hospital geriatrics doctor, told Reuters.
The problem complicates an already difficult situation as Pfizer and AstraZeneca warn that they will not be able to deliver the batches of vaccines promised for the first quarter of the year.
Brussels pressure on companies
Pfizer estimates it will be able to produce two billion doses in 2021, but that figure is based on the assumption that each vial gives six doses.
The company charges per vial and not per dose, which means the price has increased by 20%.
Countries that fail to obtain suitable syringes will thus also suffer economic losses.
The European Commission is now pressuring Pfizer and BioNtech to deliver larger quantities of syringes.
BioDech, the German company that developed the vaccine produced by US Pfizer, says it has produced 50 million syringes, which it will dispose of at cost prices, and is trying to buy more.
By comparison, the EU has ordered up to 600 million doses of the vaccine, which means an equal number of syringes are needed.
According to Reuters, industry representatives say production is sufficient to meet demand, but the order situation is "chaotic" and production is not always heading where it is needed.
"Working with our competitors, we are now able to meet all demand," said a spokesman for Germany's B.Braun, which is the largest producer of injection equipment in the EU. "At the same time we are working on other solutions to ensure that the same applies to the future," he said.
The problem was urgent in Switzerland, which had ordered syringes for five doses per vial. It is now in negotiations with Pfizer to receive the appropriate equipment, the Federal Office of Public Health announced.
In Germany, the federal government is responsible for distributing the vaccines, but it is up to the governments of the 16 Länder to supply syringes and needles.
Some states, such as Baden-Vürttemberg and Thuringia, are not in trouble, while Bavaria, Zaarland and Lower Saxony are now rushing for new orders.
Source: news.in.gr
