Swine flu vaccine is burned

Two years after the swine flu epidemic, the countries are looking for an incinerator to destroy the vaccine residues.

She was to eliminate 196 pallets with 16 million doses, said the spokesman of the Ministry of Health of Saxony-Anhalt, Holger Paech, and confirming a report by the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" dated the same day.

The purchased for several hundred million euros vaccines must be destroyed because the World Health Organization, had allowed him time for the pandemic, as the spokesman explained. In addition, running from the expiration date, and regular flu vaccinations protect against today also the H1N1 virus. Saxony-Anhalt has taken over the search for the waste management company, since it is currently chaired by the relevant working group of countries.

The 196 pallets are stored at a transport company at an undisclosed location outside of Saxony-Anhalt. The newspaper reports of 15 tons to be destroyed at 1000 degree heat. Compared to the cost of the destruction was inexpensive: The country counted on less than 10 000 €.Up to September, according to the Ministry offers available until November, the centrally stored vaccine doses to be destroyed.

In addition to the remaining pallets, there are other boxes that had already been delivered to doctors and health departments and were not used. These have been destroyed or are decentralized, continued the ministry.

The countries sit on huge costs. Of the 34 million vaccine doses had acquired 28.7 million left over, had the Ministry of Health in Lower Saxony, which was then chaired the Health Ministers' Conference, reported in late 2010. This left the country sitting at the expense of 239 million €. The health insurance paid only for doses that were also used. Plans to sell the vaccine Pandemrix abroad had failed because there was no need for the world.

The countries had tried in vain, that the federal government takes over a portion of the cost. "Unfortunately the federal government has not contributed to the cost," said Paech. And so, although I Chancellor Angelika Merkel (CDU) urged countries at that time to procure at least half the population of vaccines.