When Karl Lauterbach (SPD) announced the first delivery of Pfizer’s anti-corona drug Paxlovid at the end of 2021, the Federal Minister of Health sounded almost euphoric: The drug, which is intended to help prevent a serious course of the disease, is “extremely promising”. In combination with the vaccines, it could help the Covid pandemic lose its terror. The federal government acted boldly and ordered one million packs of the virus inhibitor. In the meantime, it has become apparent that that was obviously a bit too bold: a good year after the market launch in Germany, 620,000 packs are still in stock at pharmaceutical wholesalers, according to an inquiry from WELT am SONNTAG to the Federal Ministry of Health. The miscalculation already caused trouble.
