According to a media report, anyone who wants to be vaccinated against the corona virus this fall has little choice when it comes to the vaccine. Because of contracts with the EU, the federal government is apparently only allowed to procure the vaccine from BioNTech.
BioNTech instead of Moderna – in the new vaccination campaign against Corona, the federal government apparently only pays for the vaccine from BioNTech/Pfizer, but no longer for that from other manufacturers. EU contracts with the manufacturers BioNTech/Pfizer obligated Germany to “purchase 17.5 million vaccine doses in multi-dose containers this year and 15 million each in the two following years,” said the head of the North Rhine-Westphalia Association of Pharmacists, Thomas Preis, of the “Rheinische Post”.
“Only this vaccine is paid for by the federal government,” said Preis, criticizing that the lack of a choice of corona vaccines would lead to discussions in pharmacies and doctor’s offices. That will take time and does not promote the willingness to vaccinate. However, a high vaccination rate is desirable because further mutations are to be expected.
Other vaccines only for self-payers
Industry circles therefore confirm the BioNTech privilege: “It is actually no longer possible for Moderna and other providers to offer their adapted Covid 19 vaccines through the regular supply system by the end of 2027,” said an industry expert of the “Rheinische Post”.
This excludes patients from accessing vaccines from manufacturers without a central procurement contract – unless they pay for the vaccine themselves.
General practitioners fear additional work due to the lack of individual doses
And there could be further difficulties in the vaccination campaign: The German Association of General Practitioners had criticized the “Spiegel” newspaper about the multi-dose containers from BioNTech. “We will end up in organizational overkill again if we either quickly organize five more vaccinees, postpone the vaccination or throw away five vaccine doses every time a BioNTech vaccination is necessary,” said the deputy federal chairwoman.
The vaccine comes in vials containing six doses. When asked, BioNTech said preparations were underway for the introduction of unit doses of the adapted vaccine in various markets, including the United States. There is no exact date for this yet.