WHO Warns of Potential Vaccine Syringe Shortage Next Year

The World Health Organization announced the possibility of a global shortage of syringes in 2022 for the COVID-19 vaccine in the 1 billion to 2 billion range.UN News reported a WHO senior adviser, Lisa Hedman, warned many may find themselves missing routine vaccinations unless manufacturing picks up.Hedman also said over 6.8 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines are currently administered globally per year. That number nearly doubles the routine amount of inoculations annually delivered.Hedman says, “[Given] the global manufacturing capacity of around six billion a year for immunization syringes, it’s pretty clear that a deficit in 2022 of over a billion could happen if we continue with business as usual.”To add another hurdle, syringes require 10 times more transportation space than a vaccine, which makes them susceptible to delays.