German Production: Vaccine Tech
As the world’s 3rd largest exporting country, Germany has established a reputation for itself as a global powerhouse, pioneering its own way through times of unprecedentedness. I found that one of the most surprising aspects of Germany’s economy comes from a matter that has been at the center of our lives in recent years, as the country played a critical role in bringing individuals back together after months of isolation and separation.
Most recently, take the COVID-19 pandemic as an example. In the darkest times of the pandemic, breakthroughs in vaccine technology lit the way. After months of closed doors and quarantining, the world turned its eyes to the revolutionary discoveries that could begin to start the shift toward a more familiar life; at the precipice of these innovations was German company BioNTech, collaborating with Pfizer to create the most widely distributed vaccination for the COVID-19 virus. All in all, the German government provided over $745 million to BioNTech, but in doing so they invested in returning the world to a more pre-pandemic state of living.
As such, it is no question that vaccines serve as a fair portion of Germany’s exports at nearly 2% of gross export goods. This makes sense, given that the European Union is the overall largest exporter of vaccines and that Germany is a major player in the EU. In the modern time, it may seem that as we move away from the worst of havoc wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic, this share may have the potential to decrease. That said, in the time of continually advancing biotechnology, I would argue that this share of exports has the potential to grow exponentially in the coming years, so long as investments into vaccine tech continue. I make this argument from the perspective that disease is an issue that requires ever-adaptive solutions. It is a subject of unpredictable nature, and as such the world must continually respond to the insurgence of new disease. So long as BioNTech can remain a leader in this field, I believe German exports in vaccines will remain substantial.
