According to research, almost $2 billion has been lost on unused COVID-19 vaccinations during the course of the pandemic.
Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, and Novavax are four vaccine brands that have had more than 300 million doses of their products destroyed or donated to other nations.
Wasted COVID-19 Vaccines
The wastage can be attributed to a variety of factors, such as vaccine reluctance and US government spending excess.
The World Health Organization has nevertheless requested that new COVID-19 vaccines be created for this winter that specifically target mutant strains notwithstanding the data and declining demand.
Nevertheless, only 404 million of those have actually been handled, leaving 192 million unaccounted for.
Moreover, 355 million Moderna vaccinations, including the revised booster, were shipped, but only 253 million of them were administered, leaving 102 million unutilized.
According to research by the Kaiser Family Foundation, the average cost of Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines purchased by the federal government is $20.69 per dosage, or $2 billion.
There were 12.5 million J&J dosages and 1.3 million Novavax Covid injections leftover.
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309 million unused Covid vaccines
The cost of the wasted vaccines from J&J and Novavax combined was $1.5 million. The J&J shots cost $10 each dosage, while the Novavax doses cost $16 apiece.
In total, 309 million Covid vaccinations went unutilized, costing the US almost $2.3 billion.
The cost of the wasted vaccines from J&J and Novavax combined was $1.5 million. The J&J shots cost $10 each dosage, while the Novavax doses cost $16 apiece.
In total, 309 million Covid vaccinations went unutilized, costing the US almost $2.3 billion.
There are still other reasons to throw away doses, though. A Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine vial frequently contains five to six doses, whereas a Moderna vaccine vial can contain up to ten doses.
A fresh vial may occasionally be opened to administer the vaccine to one individual, but if no one else is available to receive the remaining doses, the container must be discarded.
Yet vaccine reluctance is a growing problem in the US.
According to CDC figures, 230 million Americans, or 70% of the population, received both doses of the original Covid vaccination.
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