Billions of euros were spent on COVID‑19 vaccines that were later discarded.

Omissions

• The €4 billion figure is an estimate calculated by POLITICO using media-reported vaccine prices, not official procurement prices which are confidential under EU contracts.
• Only 15 of 27 EU member states disclosed their discarded dose data; the other 12 countries did not respond or refused to share data, meaning the actual number of discarded doses and their value is likely significantly higher.
• All available sources reporting on vaccine waste in the EU ultimately derive from a single POLITICO investigative analysis published in December 2023 — no independent primary source such as a European Court of Auditors report or European Commission disclosure has confirmed the exact discarded value.
• The claim does not distinguish between vaccines procured centrally by the European Commission and those procured bilaterally by individual member states.

Sources

• SecondaryPOLITICO EuropeAt least 215 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines purchased by EU countries at the height of the pandemic have since been thrown away at an estimated cost to the taxpayer of more than €4 billion. POLITICO estimates the value based on vaccine prices reported in the media. Data was obtained from 15 out of 27 EU countries that responded to information requests.
• SecondaryOxfam InternationalPolitico revealed that the EU discarded between 215 million and 312 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine, the equivalent of €4 billion euros. Average of 0.7 discarded doses per EU citizen.
• SecondaryHealth Policy WatchEuropean countries had destroyed at least 215 million unwanted COVID-19 vaccine doses valued at over €4 billion.