EU countries have come to have coronavirus vaccines they cannot use. The scramble a year ago to secure the necessary doses of the coveted formulations on the Old Continent has given way to a push for countries to "get rid" of them as the cost of storing them is quite high.
Health officials from European Union members met Wednesday to discuss modifications to contracts with producers such as Pfizer Inc. as they face increased storage costs for short-lived vaccines, Bloomberg reports.
Some countries are seeking to modify purchasing agreements. Adjusting the agreements could give member states the right "to reposition, suspend or completely cancel deliveries of short-lived vaccines," the prime ministers of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania wrote in a joint letter to Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen late last month.
The Commission led the EU's vaccine procurement, leading to deals that secured billions of vaccines at the height of the pandemic. However, many states, including some with low vaccination rates, are now trying to cut costs as demand for vaccines falls.
Demand is falling even though states fall short of the 70% population vaccination target
Romania, one of the EU's least vaccinated countries, sold doses to Germany and Hungary. Poland last month triggered a "force majeure" clause after failing to renegotiate a deal with suppliers.
The Commission said on May 13 that it had reached an agreement with BioNTech and Pfizer to adjust delivery schedules in member states, but did not provide a copy of the agreement.
[/B]The EU has entered a new phase in the fight against the virus. While demand is falling, many EU members remain far from the 70% vaccination rate target.
Covax, the global vaccine initiative backed by the World Health Organization, has said it has enough doses for countries to meet their vaccination targets, but deliveries are slowing.
Data firm Airfinity Ltd. recently lowered its estimate of global vaccine revenue for 2022 to about $64 billion from $81 billion.
Source.gr
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