Coronavirus: WHO warns massive syringe shortfall could hurt vaccine efforts in 2022

Name: India administers its 1 billionth Covid-19 vaccine dose despite shortages
Uploaded: 2021-11-09T17:18:04.000Z
Duration: 2 min 14 s
Description: India administers its 1 billionth Covid-19 vaccine dose despite shortages

Covid-19 vaccine campaigns mean billions more syringes than normal are being used worldwide

A shortage could cause delays in routine vaccinations, including those for children, or lead to the unsafe practice of reusing needles

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A health worker draws up a syringe with the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine against Covid-19 in a temporary mobile vaccination centre in Bavaria. Photo: DPA

Agence France-Presse

Published: 1:18am, 10 Nov 2021Updated: 11:06pm, 10 Nov 2021

The World Health Organization warned on Tuesday there could be shortfall of up to 2 billion syringes in 2022, which threatens to hamper vaccine efforts globally is production does not improve.

The shortages are the result of Covid-19 vaccine campaigns, with billions more syringes than normal being used worldwide, badly denting global supplies.

Lisa Hedman, the WHO’s senior adviser on access to medicines and health products, said as the supply of Covid-19 vaccine doses increases, the supply of syringes needs to keep pace.

“We are raising the real concern that we could have a shortage of immunisation syringes, which would in turn lead to serious problems, such as slowing down immunisation efforts,” she told reporters.

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India administers its 1 billionth Covid-19 vaccine dose despite shortages

“Depending on how the vaccine uptake goes, it could be a deficit of anywhere from 1 billion to 2 billion.”