As the eXXpress reported, the Ministry of Health bought and ordered 57 million vaccine doses at the end of 2021. A small portion of over 283,000 cans has already expired. However, the expired vaccines were not disposed of. This is not yet necessary, since afterwards “an extension of the shelf life could come into force”. Minister Mückstein gave this in response to a parliamentary question from Herbert Kickl (FPÖ). It is interesting that the vaccines that have already expired are those of AstraZeneca and Johnson&Johnson. These are actually no longer vaccinated in Austria.
The vaccines from BioNtech Pfizer and Moderna were still good in December, but were already affected by an extension of the best-before dates. The shelf life of the BioNTech Pfizer cans was subsequently corrected from 6 to 9 months, those of Moderna from 7 to 9 months. Children’s vaccines are also affected: “The shelf life of the children’s vaccine from BioNTech was extended from 6 to 9 months before the first delivery to Austria on December 13, 2021,” wrote Minister Mückstein.
