The German government has claimed that they are facing around three months of shortages in vaccines. These shortages are caused by supply problems with pharmaceutical firms.
COVID-19 vaccine shortages imminent in Germany
Germany will likely face shortages in vaccine delivery to their citizens until at most May. This statement was issued by the health minister, where he warned citizens to follow safety protocols before enough vaccines arrive.
“ It is obvious that we will face 11 weeks of vaccine shortages due to production disruptions.” Minister Jens Spahn tweeted.
Germany has faced various criticism for its inability to meet its vaccine quota as expected. The German minister’s comments come in a week that major vaccine developers AstraZeneca and. Moderna has complained of shortages.
AstraZeneca has complained that it is facing several production problems at its plants in Europe and will come up short in its supply agreement to EU nations. However, the European nation has insisted that despite its problems, the pharmaceutical firm must deliver vaccines as at when due.
The EU bloc also maintained that they must be served first before any jabs are given to the UK. Furthermore, EU officials have stormed Belgium plants of AstraZeneca to determine how severe the production issues are.
Governments and pharmaceutical firms must discuss the way forward
On Thursday evening, Mr. Spahn asked for a round-table meeting between politicians and pharmaceutical officials to talk about ways in which production and supply could be hastened. He said if this is done, there will be positive results and governments can support their efforts.
This week Mr. Spahn supported the EU idea that all vaccine supply should be registered so that the destinations of vaccines will be known. He also said the reduced infection rates in Germany was a positive and that educational institutions could open pretty soon as the lockdown ends February 15.
Germany will bar travelers from South Africa, the UK, and Brazil, due to new strains of Covid-19 from these countries. Germany has so far received about 3 million jabs from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna.
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