(Reuters) – Moderna Inc. said on Monday it was proposing to fill vials with additional doses of COVID-19 vaccine to ease a crisis in production as the company approaches the manufacture of nearly a million doses a day.
“The company proposes to fill the ampoules with additional doses of vaccine, up to 15 doses compared to the current 10 doses,” Moderna said in an e-mail statement.
“Modern should have additional discussions with the FDA to ensure the comfort of the agency with this approach before implementation,” the company said, referring to the US Food and Drug Administration.
Modern President Stephen Hoge said in a statement that the additional doses would help address capacity constraints, noting that “beyond the amount of medicine available, there are how many vials you can fill in a given period of time.”
CNBC reported Friday that Moderna has asked the FDA for permission to fill its COVID-19 vaccine ampoules with up to five additional doses.
The US distribution of the Modern COVID-19 vaccine began in December, following the FDA’s emergency use authorization, making it the second COVID-19 vaccine to receive approval in the United States.
The FDA told Reuters in December that additional doses of Pfizer Inc.’s COVID-19 vaccine vials could be used after reports of pharmacist dose elimination by pharmacists due to labeling confusion.
As of Monday morning, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has administered 32,222,402 doses of COVID-19 vaccines and distributed 49,936,450 doses.
Report by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Leslie Adler