According to the Belgian government on Monday, almost 6 million doses of expired COVID-19 vaccines will be destroyed, as Belgium's Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke stated that newer versions of Pfizer and Moderna are more effective against the virus. 

Het Laatste Nieuws daily reported that Vandenbroucke explained in the health committee of the federal parliament that “several studies show that the vaccines adapted to BA.4/5 subvariants are significantly more effective than the original vaccines.”

The health minister further added that 2.6 million Moderna doses and 3.3 million Pfizer doses would be "destroyed as soon as possible," and that the decision is "only related to that new types of vaccines have been developed.”

Vandenbroucke also stated that Belgium “will not store in freezers those vaccines that cannot be used neither in the country nor donated abroad.”

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In related news, last week, a lawsuit filed by a healthcare worker against BioNTech in Germany over alleged harm caused by its Covid-19 vaccine saw its first hearing. 

Represented by the Rogert & Ulbrich law firm, the middle-aged worker is demanding €150,000 ($161,000) in compensation after claiming that she suffered swelling in her arms and legs, fatigue, and sleep disorder, as well as material damages that were not specified.

The law firm said it has so far filed around 250 lawsuits on behalf of clients requesting compensation for physical side effects caused by the vaccines.

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Another firm, Casar-Preller, also announced filing 100 lawsuits on the same basis.

Over two-thirds of the 224 million administered Covid-19 vaccines in Germany were produced by the Mainz-based BioNTech - which pioneered vaccines based on mRNA technology.

The lawsuits, which also included ones filed in Italy, are considered the largest reparation claims that the pharmaceutical giant has faced worldwide since the pandemic outbreak.

BioNTech responded in a statement that the accusations are "baseless" and that it would reject them.

Also, in January, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla was forced to escape a swarm of journalists while attending the World Economic Forum at Davos, as they posed questions regarding the side effects of the company's Covid-19 vaccine.

Just to remind all Indians, that Pfizer tried to bully Govt of India into accepting conditions of indemity

And Cong trio of Rahul, Chidamabaram n Jairam Ramesh kept pushing case of foreign vaccines during Covid 🤮🤬🥵 https://t.co/nT5LHI07hc

— Rajeev Chandrasekhar 🇮🇳 (@Rajeev_GoI) January 20, 2023