Moderna is seeking permission from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to increase the amount of vaccine sealed in each ampoule, in hopes of easing some pressure on the manufacturing and distribution process, according to a CNBC report.
An anonymous source told the press that the change will allow Moderna to store 15 doses of vaccine per bottle, five more than the 10 currently packaged. The source told CNBC that the extra doses included in the vials would alleviate the blockage on a part of the manufacturing process called “filling / finishing”.
The source asked to remain anonymous because the request to the FDA has not yet been made public.
Hill contacted Moderna and the FDA for confirmation.
The news comes as the United States ran into problems with the vaccine distribution process, and localities had to cancel thousands of appointments due to a lack of vaccine allocations. President Biden’s administration has set a goal of delivering at least 100 million doses of coronavirus vaccines in its first 100 days. CNBC notes that daily administration rates have risen by more than 1 million a day.
Pfizer also recently made a request to change the number of doses per vial after it was discovered that a sixth additional dose could be taken from their vials using a specific syringe, according to CNBC. The request was approved, the company stating that it will deliver fewer vials, but the same number of doses to the US.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, just over 15 million doses of Moderna coronavirus vaccine have been administered in the United States. In addition, 17.8 million doses of Pfizer vaccine were administered, the first to be approved for emergency use in the United States.