Analysis: "Russian roulette" in Europe as needle shortages hamper COVID-19 shots

FILE PHOTO: A vial and sryinge are seen in front of a displayed Pfizer and Biontech logo in this illustration taken January 11, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

PARIS/BERLIN (Reuters) - Laurent Fignon, a geriatric doctor in the south of France, is having to improvise as he gives shots of the COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech to care home residents and health staff because supplies of the right needles and syringes are short.

Getting the full six doses from vials of the Pfizer/BioNTech shot – as allowed this month by the European Union's health regulator – requires needles that are both thin enough to minimize waste and long enough to deliver the jab, as required, into the recipient's shoulder muscle.