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(Adds regional government clears vaccine)
By Arno Schuetze
FRANKFURT, Dec 27 (Reuters) - Germany's coronavirus
vaccination campaign faced delays in several cities on Sunday
after temperature trackers showed that about 1,000 of the shots
made by BioNTech and Pfizer may not have been
kept cold enough during transit.
"When reading the temperature loggers that were enclosed in
the cool boxes, doubts arose about the compliance with the cold
chain requirements," the district of Lichtenfels in the north of
Germany's largest state, Bavaria, said in a statement.
Medical staff found that the temperature in one vaccine
transport cool box had risen to 15 degrees Celsius, a spokesman
for Lichtenfels said, above the maximum of 8C stipulated by the
manufacturers. He added that his district had not received
advice from BioNtech yet on how to proceed.
The regional government of Bavaria's Upper Franconia region
where several affected districts are based said that BioNTech
cleared the vaccines late on Sunday.
"BioNTech has confirmed the quality of the vaccine shots," a
spokeswoman for Upper Franconia said. "The vaccination programme
can start (in our region)."
BioNtech had earlier said in a statement it was responsible
for the shipment to the 25 German distribution centres and that
the federal states and local authorities were responsible for
the shipment to the vaccination centres and the mobile
vaccination teams.
"This is where the variations in temperature occurred. We
are in contact with many authorities to provide advice, however
it is up to them how to proceed", a BioNTech spokeswoman said.
In a December presentation, BioNtech had said that once
removed from the freezer, the vaccine can be stored for up to
five days at 2-8C and up to two hours at temperatures up to 30C,
prior to use.
The vaccine, which uses new so-called mRNA technology, must
be stored at ultra-low temperatures of about -70 degrees Celsius
(-112°F) before being shipped to distribution centres in
specially designed cool boxes filled with dry ice.
Once out of ultra-low temperature storage, the vaccine must
be kept at 2C to 8C to remain effective for up to five days. The
cool boxes designed by Pfizer are fitted with GPS trackers so
the companies can deal with potential storage issues en route.
The spokesman for Lichtenfels said 1,000 shots had been
affected by the temperature issue and that the city and the
districts of Coburg, Kronach, Kulmbach, Hof, Bayreuth and
Wunsiedel in northern Bavaria were waiting to hear from BioNTech
about whether the vaccine could still be used.
"Vaccination against the coronavirus is not about who
vaccinates the fastest or who does the most doses. Safety and
conscientious work for the benefit of the population have the
highest priority," said Oliver Baer, district administrator in
Hof.
The European Union launched a mass COVID-19 vaccination
drive on Sunday with pensioners and medics lining up to get the
first shots to see off a pandemic that has crippled economies
and claimed more than 1.7 million lives worldwide.
The delays in Germany highlight the challenge in rolling out
the vaccine while regulators review for approval other shots,
including those made by Moderna and AstraZeneca,
which are easier to transport and store.
The roll-out of the Pfizer vaccine in the United States has
been slow putting the government's target of 20 million
vaccinations this month in doubt, as hospitals have navigated
preparing the previously frozen shots for use, finding staff to
run clinics and ensuring proper social distancing.
In Germany, similar temperature issues also delayed the
start of the vaccination campaign in the southern Bavarian
districts of Augsburg and Dillingen, where staff eventually got
clearance from BioNTech to use the shots.
Germany's vaccination campaign officially kicked off on
Sunday with residents of elderly care homes being inoculated.
The federal government is planning to distribute more than 1.3
million doses to local health authorities by the end of this
year and about 700,000 per week from January.
(Additional reporting by Josephine Mason; Editing by David
Clarke, Nick Macfie and Daniel Wallis)
