Due to a lack of demand for vaccine doses among the Swedish public for the Chinese coronavirus, Sweden now has far more doses than it actually has space to store, due to contractual obligations to keep buying new ones.
Sweden has run out of refrigerated storage for doses of the Chinese coronavirus vaccine and is now storing doses overseas in Germany in an agreement with the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer which provides the mRNA vaccine.
Sweden is one of many European Union countries that have signed contracts with Pfizer for the purchase of vaccines but due to a lack of demand from the public to take new doses, the country has seen its capacity to store the doses properly overwhelmed, broadcaster Sveriges Radio reports.
Minister of Social Affairs Jakob Forssmed, a member of the centre-right Christian Democrats (KD), explained the situation to the broadcaster saying, “We have a number of vaccine deliveries coming to us, but lacking the storage capacity,” and added, “This way, we reduce the risk of having to throw away vaccines.”
In recent months many countries in Europe and elsewhere have seen a rapid decline in demand for the Chinese coronavirus vaccine, with the EU considering rescheduling and delaying deliveries as early as July of this year due to oversupply.
“The contract for 2022 is too big,” a source told the Financial Times and added, “Vaccination will not be as strong as it was in 2021. That’s why member states are asking to stretch [deliveries].”
Other countries have also started reigning in their vaccine rollouts due to complications associated with the vaccine, which can include heart conditions such as myocarditis.
Sweden has stopped recommending coronavirus vaccines for children aged 12 to 17 after acknowledging that very few children of that age suffer serious complications from the virus itself.
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