shops spain fourteen million doses of Covid vaccines expired drugs which, predictably, will have to be destroyed like other expired drugs. The data was provided by Spanish Medicines Agency in response to a question asked by ‘The target‘ through the Transparency Portal.
Most of the expired doses are from the pharmaceutical company Pfizer (8.2 million), followed by Moderna (2 million), but there are also Novavax (1.8), Astrazeneca (1.1) and Janssen (624,275 doses). These amounts represent nearly 7% of total vaccine doses received in the country.
Spain is not the only country storing doses of expired vaccines. The Minister of Health, Carolina Darias, asked Brussels two weeks ago a change in the contracts that the European Union has signed up with pharmaceutical companies. He said countries could not afford vaccines that would not be used.
Other European countries have also complained of overdoses that they are unable to administer or donate.
With the pandemic under control, the vaccination rate has declined worldwide and so has the need for immunization. In the United States and Europe, the fourth dose is not catching up with the previous ones.
Who gets the fourth dose?
In Spain, it is recommended for those over 60, health professionals and other risk groups such as the immunosuppressed. At the last meeting of the Public Health Commission it was also recommended to immunize the population between the ages of six and 59 with a new dose.
Until now, Healthcare has only given the option of immunization in autumn campaign for the over 60s and patients at risk. 49.9% of over-60s were vaccinated with the fourth dose, 69.7% in the case of over-80s.
The Minister of Health recalled yesterday after the Inter-Territorial Health Council that Spain was the leader in vaccination against COVID-19 with almost 104 million doses. This allowed 93% of the population to have the complete guideline. 71.6% of over 80 year olds and 53.2% of over 60 year olds also have second dose Of memory.
