Lisa Hedman, senior advisor in the WHO’s Division of Access to Medicines and Health Products, said at a United Nations briefing that 6.8 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered worldwide, which exceeds last year’s manufacturing capacity of 6 billion syringes.
If manufacturing priorities aren’t adjusted to make more syringes, the world could see a shortage of 2 billion syringes in 2022, Ms. Hedman said, according to The Hill.
“We could have a global shortage of immunization syringes that could in turn lead to serious problems such as slowing down immunization efforts as well as safety concerns,” she said.
Expanding manufacturing capacity will take time and investment, she added.
A shortage could also lead to delays in routine vaccinations and other procedures, The Hill reported.
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