Luxembourg, a small European country, has recently revealed that it has disposed of more than a million expired doses of the Covid-19 vaccine since its introduction in 2021. This revelation comes as a surprise, raising questions about the country's vaccination strategy and the financial implications of discarding such a significant number of vaccines.
According to the Health Minister, Martine Deprez, over 1.1 million vaccines worth nearly €23.5 million have been discarded in the past three years. These doses were obtained through a joint procurement process led by the European Commission. The main reason for such a large number of expired doses is the decline in demand for vaccinations since the World Health Organization declared the global health emergency over in May last year.
Luxembourg witnessed a significant drop in Covid-19 cases in the final week of 2023, with only 338 people testing positive compared to the previous week leading up to Christmas. This decline in infections can be attributed to the government's decision to lift all pandemic restrictions. With fewer cases and relaxed regulations, the need for vaccinations has diminished.
The government's response to this decline in demand was to discard a further 350,000 expired doses, amounting to approximately €7 million. The Health Ministry has also disclosed that an additional 326,000 Covid-19 vaccine doses are set to expire within the next 12 months, further adding to the growing number of wasted vaccines.
In her response to the issue, Health Minister Martine Deprez highlighted that Luxembourg, like other European Union (EU) countries, is contractually obligated to purchase a proportional number of vaccine doses. This contractual obligation makes it impossible to prevent a certain number of doses from being destroyed due to various reasons.
The financial implications of discarding such a substantial number of vaccines are concerning. With each dose costing a significant amount of money, the waste of nearly €23.5 million raises questions about the effectiveness and efficiency of Luxembourg's vaccination campaign.
