MetroHealth and Cleveland Clinic Have More Doses of Coronavirus Vaccine Than Expected

CLEVELAND, Ohio – MetroHealth and the Cleveland Clinic have more doses of the coronavirus vaccine than expected, which will allow both health systems to immunize more frontline caregivers with the first shipment.

Each vial of a COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and German biotech company BioNTech was supposed to contain five doses, but the two health systems find around six. Experts say this is normal, as the vials are usually overfilled as a precaution.

“If we’re specific, we have one more vaccine dose per vial than we all originally thought,” Dr Brook Watts, MetroHealth’s quality manager, said in an email.

Both hospitals expected the shipments to arrive in Cleveland on Tuesday to contain 975 doses of the vaccine. Instead, Watts said MetroHealth should be able to immunize at least 1,125 caregivers with the first shipment. The clinic has not yet been able to say how many caregivers could be vaccinated with the shipment.

The US Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday released guidelines for “extra” doses, saying pharmacists can use any vaccine left in a vial as long as there is enough for a full dose. Pharmacists should not combine leftover vaccine from two separate vials in order to make complete sleepiness, the FDA said.

MetroHealth and the clinic each began immunizing healthcare workers on Wednesday. MetroHealth has already vaccinated 700 caregivers and is expected to complete its first wave of vaccinations on Friday. The clinic said it will finish administering the first shipment early next week.

The Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine requires two doses, so everyone vaccinated this week will need a second dose in two weeks.

Ohio expects more than 420,000 doses of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine and another developed by Moderna by Christmas, Governor Mike DeWine said Tuesday.

The Ohio Department of Health has developed a four-phase plan to distribute the vaccine statewide, starting with high-risk healthcare workers and residents of long-term care facilities like homes of retirement. Five to ten nursing homes statewide are expected to start vaccinations on Friday, DeWine said previously.