Moderna proposes to fill vials with additional doses of COVID-19 vaccine

(Reuters) – Moderna Inc said on Monday it was proposing to fill vials with additional doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to ease the manufacturing crisis as the company nears manufacturing nearly a million doses per day.

“The company proposes to fill vials with additional doses of vaccine, up to 15 doses over the current 10 doses,” Moderna said in an emailed statement.

“Moderna would need to continue discussions with the FDA to ensure the agency’s comfort with this approach before implementing it,” the company said, referring to the US Food and Drug Administration.

Moderna president Stephen Hoge said in the statement that the extra doses would help overcome capacity constraints, noting that “beyond the amount of drug product available, there are how many vials you can fill in a given period. “

CNBC reported on Friday that Moderna had asked the FDA for permission to refill its COVID-19 vaccine vials with up to five additional doses.

U.S. distribution of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine began in December following emergency use clearance from the FDA, making it the second COVID-19 vaccine to receive approval in the United States .

The FDA told Reuters in December that additional doses from Pfizer Inc.’s COVID-19 vaccine vials could be used after reports of vaccine doses thrown away by pharmacists due to labeling confusion.

As of Monday morning, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had administered 32,222,402 doses of COVID-19 vaccines and distributed 49,936,450 doses.