COVID-19 threatens to bring another problem: a shortage of hypodermic needles

If production is not started in time, there may be a shortage of at least one billion syringes.

At the moment, plenty of vaccines are still being distributed to protect people against the spreading coronavirus. The corona vaccine can now only be administered with a prick in your arm. And that now threatens to become a problem. Because the WHO warns of a worldwide shortage of hypodermic needles.

Shortage

At the moment everything is being done to vaccinate the entire world population. And that means that not only billions of vaccines, but also just as many hypodermic needles are needed. Unfortunately, it now appears that manufacturers are unable to meet this growing demand. And if production does not start in time, there may be an acute shortage of at least one billion syringes.

Children

This will have consequences for children, among other things, warns WHO adviser Lisa Hedman. Unless manufacturers find a way to make more disposable syringes, an entire generation of children is in danger of missing their scheduled vaccination shot. “If you think about the magnitude of the number of injections being handed out to respond to the pandemic, we really can’t afford any shortages,” she says.

The numbers

Just to name a few figures: more than 6.8 billion corona vaccines are administered worldwide. That is almost double the number of routine shots that are taken every year. “Unfortunately, therefore, a shortage of syringes is a real possibility,” continues Hedman. “If we continue at current pace, it means there could be a deficit of more than a billion by 2022.”

Reuse

Despite the looming problem, reuse of needles, even if they have been sterilized, is not a solution. “There may still be harmful bacteria present,” notes Hedman. And so factories will have to somehow manage to scale up their production to deal with the looming shortage.

Equitable distribution

If it is not possible to manufacture more hypodermic needles in time, there are particular fears for developing countries. For example, only 2.5 percent of the population in low-income countries is currently fully vaccinated. Recently, the heads of several leading funds and organizations (including the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the World Health Organization and the World Trade Organization) have gathered to discuss a more equitable distribution of vaccines. The participants pledged to continue to work together to clarify donations, vaccination swaps and delivery schedules so that the distribution of life-saving vaccines can be better targeted to the countries most in need.

Ultimately, the goal is to have 40 percent of people in all countries vaccinated by the end of the year. This pursuit requires close collaboration between manufacturers and governments, among others, on improved delivery schedules and doses to be donated. And ultimately, the intention is that everyone who wants to can simply receive their shot against the coronavirus.