Czechia has ordered syringes and needles for vaccination against the coronavirus through the State Material Reserves Administration (SSHR), mainly from the Slovak Chirana company. The European Union received their supply from China. However, PM Andrej Babiš points out that those needles are not suitable for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.
According to the Prime Minister, the Czech Republic ordered 6 million syringes and 6 million needles via the SSHR as well as an additional 800,000 syringes and needles to mix the vaccine with the diluent.
“We did not order from China. The delivery is mainly from Slovakia´s Chirana,” confirmed Babiš.
Babiš emphasized that the European Union, which purchased needles and syringes for all member states, secured its supply of syringes from China.
“The European Union competed for this supply, not the Czech Republic,” he said.
Czechia applied for deliveries from the EU in November and, according to the Prime Minister, ordered 12 million needles, 12 million syringes, and 1.8 million syringes for dilution.
However, Health Minister Jan Blatný confirmed that the syringes ordered through the EU are not suitable for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine but will be used with vaccines from other manufacturers. Currently, the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is still predominant in the Czech Republic. The Radiožurnál radio station also found that in the case of Chinese syringes with a fixed needle, getting the vaccine is more painful. Moreover, there is a risk of inflammation, and it is difficult to estimate the correct amount of vaccine fluid drawn into the syringe.
Title image: Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (Andrej Babiš / Facebook)
