According to many experts, the corona pandemic is in the transition to endemic – the Robert Koch Institute now assesses the risk of the virus for society as moderate. However, the Bavarian warehouse for masks and protective equipment is still well stocked. Vaccine from the vaccination centers that were closed at the end of 2022 still has to be distributed. Medical practices and pharmacies in Bavaria have been responsible for corona vaccinations since January 1st.
At the beginning of the year, around 31,000 doses of corona vaccine were stored in the Bavarian vaccination centers, according to a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Health in Munich. These are now to be distributed by the vaccination centers to practices and pharmacies. Since the demand for corona vaccines in Bavaria is only low and the shelf life of the vaccine doses is limited, tens of thousands of doses recently had to be disposed of. According to the ministry, around 155,000 vaccine doses were disposed of from the vaccination centers between October and December 2022 due to an expired sell-by date. At peak times there were 100 vaccination centers in Bavaria. A total of around 14 million doses of vaccine were administered there.
Not only vaccines, but also protective equipment was kept in large numbers in Bavaria. According to the spokeswoman, around 68.5 million masks, more than 200 million protective gloves and around eleven million other protective clothing are currently stored in the so-called pandemic central warehouse. This material also has a limited shelf life. Most of the masks will last until mid-2025. In order to avoid material being left there until the shelf life has expired, there is a “rolling system”. The goods are handed out to clinics and other government agencies in good time before they expire. In view of the development of the pandemic, the stock was also adjusted. Instead of the previous six months, the store should in future be sufficient for a supply of three months. For this purpose, the number of surgical masks kept was roughly halved to 20 million. In addition to protective equipment, the central warehouse also contains medical devices and equipment for emergency hospitals. This portfolio is also to be evaluated on an ongoing basis.