An investigation by POLITICO has uncovered that EU countries have disposed of approximately 215 million COVID-19 vaccine doses, purchased during the pandemic peak, at a taxpayer cost of around €4 billion. This figure likely falls short of the actual total.
Since the approval of the first COVID-19 vaccines in late 2020, EU nations have received 1.5 billion doses, equating to over three doses per European resident. Many of these doses now occupy landfills throughout Europe.
Data indicates that, on average, EU countries have discarded about 0.7 vaccine doses per person. Estonia leads in waste per capita, exceeding one dose per person, with Germany following closely, also discarding the largest total number of doses.
Extending this average to all EU nations suggests a potential total of over 312 million wasted vaccines.
The volume of discarded vaccines generally aligns with the size of the country. Germany has disposed of 83 million doses, while Luxembourg has discarded nearly half a million.
However, when considering waste per capita, the average across EU countries is about 0.7 doses per person.
Determining the exact number of discarded vaccines is challenging. Many governments, including France, one of the EU's most populous nations, are hesitant to disclose the extent of this waste.
POLITICO's analysis is based on data from 19 European countries — 15 providing direct figures, and four through local media reports. Some data is as recent as this month, while the oldest is from December 2022.
Given the time elapsed, these numbers are likely conservative, with the actual count of discarded vaccines probably higher. For instance, Germany's figures, reported to POLITICO in June, did not account for an additional 120 million vaccines in storage. Furthermore, the introduction of updated vaccines for newer coronavirus strains has likely led to more of the older versions being discarded.
POLITICO estimates the cost of the 215 million wasted vaccines to exceed €4 billion. This is based on media-reported vaccine prices, as official figures aren't public. For countries that reported only total vaccine numbers without specifying types, POLITICO used a weighted average price of €19.39 derived from countries that provided detailed data.
Yet, this €4 billion is likely a minimum estimate. This amount is substantial, comparable to major infrastructure projects or Croatia's annual healthcare budget.
