Image: VOLKER Weihbold
Actually, the pharmaceutical company Pfizer should have delivered another nine million doses of corona vaccine to Austria this year – the EU, which had taken over the negotiations for the member states, had contractually agreed with the company during the pandemic in 2021.
As the Ministry of Health announced in a press release yesterday, the number of vaccine doses ordered was reduced to 4.1 million. These will be delivered over the next three years.
The EU had renegotiated with the manufacturer because demand had fallen sharply in all member states – according to the ministry, Austria had put massive pressure on this. Other member states had recently criticized the fact that many cans had to be destroyed due to the lack of demand.
Vaccination doses that have already been ordered can be exchanged for the latest vaccine. The agreements on 800,000 cans, which were actually ordered for 2022 and will be delivered later this year, were not changed.
Costs remain secret
The EU Commission and Pfizer have agreed not to disclose the financial details of the new contract. The Ministry of Health expects savings in the high double-digit millions for Austria. The Commission also gave no information on how many fewer doses had to be ordered across the EU.
Health Minister Johannes Rauch (Greens) was satisfied with the result: “According to our experts, the new contracts correspond to future needs, especially booster vaccinations.” According to the ministry, this is around two million vaccinations per vaccination season.
Source: Nachrichten
