FDA approves syringes to extract extra dose of COVID-19 vaccine

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved an updated label to extract a potential additional dose of Pfizer and BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine using low dead volume syringes, as reported on CNN .

“Syringes and / or low dead volume needles can be used to extract six doses from a single vial. If standard syringes and needles are used, the volume may not be sufficient to extract a sixth dose from a single vial. single vial, ”the FDA said.

While overfilling vials of Pfizer and BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine can potentially deliver an extra dose, low dead volume syringes are not standard and many hospitals, medical centers and vaccine distribution locations might not be available. access for the moment. .

It has been reported in recent days that Pfizer intends to count the additional doses as part of its pledge of 200 million doses distributed in the United States by the end of July of this year.

This decision, initially in a story in the The New York Times, comes at a time when vaccine stocks are badly needed and vaccine deployment has been slower than expected. And, some healthcare providers say the extra doses aren’t compatible with every vial.

In the same story, it was also reported that Pfizer executives challenged the wording of the emergency use authorization for the vaccine to recognize that the vials distributed contain 6 doses, not 5. The difference, recognized by the FDA Jan. 6 influences the pharmaceutical company’s contract with the US government.

It can also make it difficult for the new administration to meet its vaccination goal. President Joe Biden has set a goal of delivering 100 million doses of the vaccine in the first 100 days of his administration.