The German government is “eager to enter into talks with the new US government” to comply with US policies that prioritize local coronavirus vaccine supply at US production facilities, according to a document from the German Ministry of Health.
In an extensive document published on Tuesday in response to questions from the German Social Democrats, the Ministry of Health set out why the US was able to secure additional supplies of BioNTech / Pfizer vaccines for specific dates, while increasing in the EU’s offer ‘2021. ”
The Department of Health states that an executive order from the U.S. president means that production facilities in the country “are encouraged to initially make vaccine available for supply in the U.S.” This meant that European production sites had to supply the BioNTech / Pfizer vaccine, as well as the Moderna vaccine, to the rest of the world, outside of Europe.
“The companies as well as the federal government are eager to enter into discussions with the new U.S. government to make adjustments,” the Department of Health wrote.
The document also discussed the bilateral agreement that Germany had entered into with BioNTech / Pfizer – something for which the Commission dropped Germany from the outset, although apparently against the bloc’s attempt to draw up a unified vaccine strategy.
The issue, the Ministry of Health explained, is the funding BioNTech is receiving from the German Ministry of Education and Research. This cash meant that BioNTech had to supply a portion of vaccines to Germany. As a result, the Ministry of Health had to issue an intention in the form of a memorandum of understanding for 30 million additional doses of the vaccine on September 8, the Ministry of Health writes.