The German government is “eager to enter into talks” with the new US administration to agree on changes to US policy that gives priority to local supply of coronavirus vaccine in US production facilities, according to a document from the German Ministry of Health.
In a lengthy document released Tuesday in response to questions from German Social Democrats, the health ministry said why the US had managed to secure additional supply of BioNTech / Pfizer vaccines for specific data, while EU supply growth is expected to come “in 2021. ”
The Ministry of Health states that an executive order of the US President meant that the production units in the country are “encouraged to initially make the vaccine available for supply in the USA”. This meant that European production sites for the BioNTech / Pfizer vaccine, as well as the Moderna vaccine, had to supply the rest of the world, in addition to Europe.
“Companies as well as the federal government are eager to enter into talks with the new US administration to reach adjustments,” the health ministry wrote.
The document also discussed Germany’s bilateral agreement with BioNTech / Pfizer – which the Commission has allowed Germany to release, even though it appears to be against the bloc’s efforts to develop a unitary vaccination strategy.
The problem, the health ministry explained, is the funding received by BioNTech from the German ministry of education and research. This money meant that BioNTech had to supply some of the vaccines to Germany. As a result, the health ministry had to issue a pre-contractual letter of intent in the form of a memorandum of understanding on September 8 for an additional 30 million doses of vaccine, the health ministry wrote.