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(Updates with German overdoses, cool chain issues)
* Overdoses reported in Germany
* Keeping Pfizer vaccine cold enough proves a challenge
* Questions raised in Italy over vaccine distribution
* EU expects 200 mln doses of Pfizer shot by Sept. 2021
By Francesco Guarascio and Arno Schuetze
BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT, Dec 28 (Reuters) - The EU's campaign to
vaccinate Europeans against COVID-19 has got off to an uneven
start in what will be a marathon effort to administer shots to
enough of the bloc's 450 million people to defeat the viral
pandemic.
In one mishap, eight workers at a care home in Stralsund on
the north German coast were injected with five times the
recommended dose of the vaccine developed by Pfizer and
BioNTech. Four were hospitalised.
"I deeply regret the incident. This individual case is due
to individual errors. I hope that all those affected do not
experience any serious side effects," district chief Stefan
Kerth said on Monday.
In southern Germany, officials had to send back about 1,000
doses after finding they had been transported in cool boxes
typically used for picnics or camping trips that failed to keep
the vaccine cold enough.
The EU vaccination drive kicked off at the weekend, with
health workers and residents of care homes across the bloc among
the first to get the shots from Pfizer, which must be stored at
ultra-cold temperatures.
In Italy, meanwhile, some politicians complained that
Germany - the EU's largest member state and home to BioNTech -
may be getting more than its fair share of shots.
The EU is due to receive its first 12.5 million doses of the
Pfizer vaccine by New Year's Day, with distribution of 200
million doses across its 27 member countries to be completed by
next September. The vaccine course requires two doses.
A spokesman for Pfizer declined to comment on specific
schedules or whether the timeline indicated by the Commission
represented a delay. "Our timelines are aspirational and can
shift based on capacity and manufacturing timelines," he said.
Talks are under way to agree on the delivery of an optional
further 100 million doses under the contract sealed with the two
companies, the EU said.
KEEPING COOL
The initial glitches highlight the challenge in rolling out
the vaccine while regulators consider approving other vaccines,
including from Moderna and AstraZeneca, which
are easier to transport and store.
The rollout of the Pfizer shot in the United States has been
slow, putting the government's target of 20 million vaccinations
this month in doubt, as hospitals navigate preparing the
previously frozen shots for use, finding staff to run clinics
and ensuring proper social distancing.
As well as being the first COVID-19 vaccine to be delivered
across the EU, the Pfizer shot is particularly tricky to handle.
For long-term storage it needs to be deep frozen at about minus
70 Celsius (minus 94 Fahrenheit).
It can be defrosted for a few days before being used, but
even then must be kept chilled at between 2C and 8C.
In southern Germany, officials said they would not use some
shots after temperature trackers in cool boxes showed they may
not have been kept cold enough.
"There were doubts as to whether the cold chain was
maintained at all times," said Christian Meissner, district
administrator in the Bavarian town of Lichtenfels.
"BioNTech said that the vaccine was probably okay, but
'probably okay' is not enough," he told Reuters TV.
The lapse happened after the doses were handed over to the
local authorities. BioNTech declined to comment.
In Spain, delivery of a new batch from Pfizer was held up by
a day to Tuesday due to a temperature issue that has now been
resolved, Health Minister Salvador Illa said.
Maria Asuncion Ojeda, a resident at Madrid's Ballesol Parque
Almansa nursing home, was still delighted to be an early
recipient of the Pfizer vaccine.
"I wanted to do it because it's the only way we can solve
this problem," the 87-year-old said on Monday, a day after Spain
began vaccinating care-home residents and their staff.
FAIR SHARES
The EU is distributing jointly procured vaccines on a
pro-rata basis to the 27 member states based on their
populations, while some European countries have also made their
own deals to buy extra doses separately.
In Italy, some politicians said Germany appeared to be
getting more than its fair share, at least during the highly
symbolic initial rollout.
"The accounts don't add up," Italian virologist Roberto
Burioni said on Twitter, pointing to reports in Germany that
first-day deliveries had totalled more than 150,000 doses while
other EU countries got just 10,000.
An official familiar with vaccine distribution in Germany
said that each of the 16 German federal states had received
10,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine ahead of the weekend start of
the inoculation drive.
An Italian reporter asked about the supplies at a German
government news conference. An official from the German health
ministry replied that Berlin had signed a separate deal for 30
million extra doses of the Pfizer vaccine.
(Additional reporting by Michael Nienaber, Silvio Castellanos,
Guillermo Martinez, Inti Landauro, John Miller, Maayan Lubell,
Emilio Parodi, Giselda Vagnoni and Benoit Van Overstraeten;
Writing by Douglas Busvine; Editing by Peter Graff and David
Clarke)
