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BRUSSELS: The EU campaign to vaccinate Europeans against COVID-19 has gotten off to a mixed start in what will be a marathon effort to administer injections to enough of the bloc’s 450 million people to defeat the viral pandemic.
In one mishap, eight workers at a nursing home in Stralsund, on the north coast of Germany, received five times the recommended dose of the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech. Four were hospitalized.
“I am deeply sorry for the incident. This individual case is due to individual errors. I hope that all those affected do not experience any serious side effects,” District Chief Stefan Kerth said Monday.
In southern Germany, officials had to return around 1,000 doses after discovering that they had been transported in refrigerated boxes typically used for picnics or camping trips that failed to keep the vaccine cool enough.
READ: Pfizer delays vaccine deliveries to 8 EU countries, says Spain
The EU vaccination campaign kicked off at the weekend, and health workers and nursing home residents across the block were the first to receive the Pfizer injections, which must be stored in extremely cold temperatures.
In Italy, meanwhile, some politicians complained that Germany, the EU’s largest member state and home to BioNTech, may be getting more gunfire than its share.
The EU will receive its first 12.5 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine by New Year’s Day, and the distribution of 200 million doses in its 27 member countries will be completed next September. The course of the vaccine requires two doses.
A Pfizer spokesperson declined to comment on specific hours or whether the schedule indicated by the Commission represented a delay. “Our timelines are ambitious and can change based on capacity and lead times,” he said.
Talks are underway to agree on the delivery of 100 million additional optional doses under the contract sealed with the two companies, the EU said.
KEEPING COOL
The initial failures highlight the challenge of implementing the vaccine as regulators consider approving other vaccines, including those from Moderna and AstraZeneca, which are easier to transport and store.
The launch of the Pfizer injection in the United States has been slow, casting doubt on the government’s goal of 20 million vaccines this month, as hospitals navigate preparing previously frozen injections for use, finding staff to run the clinics and ensuring adequate social distancing.
In addition to being the first COVID-19 vaccine to be distributed throughout the EU, the Pfizer injection is particularly difficult to handle. For long-term storage, it should be deep frozen to approximately minus 70 degrees Celsius.
It can be thawed for a few days before use, but even then it should be kept cold between 2 degrees Celsius and 8 degrees Celsius.
READ: Pfizer to complete initial supply of COVID-19 vaccines to the EU by September
In southern Germany, authorities said they would not use some shots after temperature trackers on the coolers showed they may not have been kept cool enough.
“There were doubts as to whether the cold chain was maintained at all times,” said Christian Meissner, a district administrator in the Bavarian city of Lichtenfels.
“BioNTech said the vaccine was probably fine but ‘probably fine’ is not enough,” he told Reuters TV.
The lapse occurred after the doses were handed over to local authorities. BioNTech declined to comment.
In Spain, the delivery of a new batch of Pfizer was delayed one day until Tuesday due to a temperature problem that has now been resolved, Health Minister Salvador Illa said.
María Asunción Ojeda, a resident of Madrid’s Ballesol Parque Almansa nursing home, was still delighted to be one of the first to receive the Pfizer vaccine.
“I wanted to do it because it’s the only way we can solve this problem,” the 87-year-old man said on Monday, a day after Spain began vaccinating nursing home residents and their staff.
FAIR ACTIONS
The EU is distributing co-purchased vaccines on a pro-rata basis to the 27 member states based on their population, while some European countries have also made their own agreements to purchase additional doses separately.
In Italy, some politicians said Germany appeared to be getting more than its share, at least during the highly symbolic initial launch.
“The numbers don’t add up,” Italian virologist Roberto Burioni said on Twitter, pointing to reports in Germany that first-day deliveries totaled more than 150,000 doses, while other EU countries received just 10,000.
An official familiar with the distribution of vaccines in Germany said that each of the 16 German federal states had received 10,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine before the start of the inoculation campaign weekend.
An Italian reporter asked about the supplies at a German government press conference. A German Health Ministry official responded that Berlin had signed a separate agreement for an additional 30 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine.
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