Pfizer said Friday it would ship fewer vials of the CCP vaccine after finding an extra dose in each vial.
“We will meet our supply commitments under our existing agreements – which are dose-based, not vial-based – and we are confident in our ability to deliver 200 million doses of vaccine to the US government by July 31.” a Pfizer spokesman told the press.
“In a situation of limited vaccine supply in the midst of a public health crisis, our intention with this label change is to provide clarity to healthcare providers, minimize vaccine waste and allow the most effective use of the vaccine. the vaccine. ”
Each vial contains a number of doses. When the vaccine was given at the end of last year, the medical staff was told that each ampoule had five doses. They are now told that each vial contains six doses, according to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) documents, although the labels on the vials may indicate that only five doses are in one vial.
Marion Gruber, director of the administration’s Office of Vaccine Research and Review, said in a letter to Pfizer earlier this month that the FDA agreed with Pfizer “that there are six doses of 0.3 ml in a vaccine vial. Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 ”.
“Accordingly, we agree with the updates to the data sheet for healthcare providers administering the vaccine (vaccination providers) that clarifies that, after dilution, one vial of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine contains six doses of 0.3 ml ”, said Gruber. .
Pfizer is set to send 200 million doses to the United States by July 31, based on agreements reached during the Trump administration.
Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Friday that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are not interchangeable.
Messenger RNA vaccines are the only two authorized for use in the United States against COVID-19, a disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.
Patients receive two distance photos every few weeks.
“The safety and efficacy of a number of mixed products have not been evaluated. Both doses in the series should be supplemented with the same product, “the CDC said in the updated guide.
“In exceptional cases where the first dose vaccine cannot be determined or is no longer available, any available COVID-19 mRNA vaccine may be administered at a minimum interval of 28 days between doses to complete the COVID-19 mRNA vaccination series. “He added.