pandemic control
There is hardly any demand for the corona drug Paxlovid in Germany – hundreds of thousands of packs are threatened with destruction
Paxlovid is hardly in demand in Germany
© Fabian Sommer / Picture Alliance
According to a media report, less than half of the Paxlovid packs ordered were delivered to wholesalers. The opposition criticized Health Minister Lauterbach and called for the drug to be given away to other countries.
Due to low demand, hundreds of thousands of packs of the corona drug Paxlovid are threatened in Germany. This emerges from a response from the Federal Ministry of Health to a parliamentary question by the CSU health politician Stephan Pilsinger, as the RND newspapers reported on Monday. According to this, only 460,000 of the one million packs ordered were delivered to wholesalers.
“Of these, 280,000 will reach their expiry date by February 2023,” said Edgar Franke (SPD), State Secretary for Health. A possible extension of the shelf life of the drug is being examined.
Pilsinger told the editorial network Germany (RND) with a view to the destruction of at least four million corona vaccine doses: “The fact that Paxlovid doses for millions of euros are now threatening to expire shows that Karl Lauterbach has learned nothing.” Before the valuable drug expires unused, “it would be better to give it away to poorer countries,” demanded the CSU politician.
Lauterbach wants to bring Paxlovid to the people
The drug from the US pharmaceutical company Pfizer is intended to help prevent severe corona courses. According to estimates, however, it has only been prescribed around 30,000 times in Germany, as the RND newspapers further reported.
Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD), who is convinced of the effectiveness of the drug, is therefore trying to increase the number of prescriptions. For example, he wants to allow doctors to dispense medicines directly to patients – which is usually the pharmacies’ monopoly.