With the news that the Pfizer and BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine vials can provide an extra dose, the federal agency has updated the labeling to allow the use of low dead volume syringes to extract it.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved an updated label allowing a potential extra dose of the Pfizer and BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine to be extracted using low dead volume syringes, as reported on CNN.
“Low-volume syringes and / or needles can be used to extract six doses from a single bottle. If standard syringes and needles are used, there may not be enough volume to extract a sixth dose from a single bottle,” the FDA said.
While overfilling the COVID-19 vaccine vials from Pfizer and BioNtech may offer an extra dose, low dead volume syringes are not standard and many hospitals, medical centers and locations where the vaccine is being distributed may not have access to them now .
It has been reported in recent days that Pfizer intends to count the supplemental doses for its 200 million dose commitment to the United States by the end of July this year.
This decision, initially in a story in the The New York Times, comes at a time when vaccine supplies are sorely needed and vaccine implantation has been slower than expected. And some health professionals claim that the extra doses are not consistent with all vials.
In the same story, it was also reported that Pfizer executives have 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 on January 6, influences the pharmaceutical company’s contract with the US government.
This can also make it challenging for the new administration to achieve its vaccination goal. President Joe Biden has set a goal of 100 million doses of the vaccine to be administered in the first 100 days of his administration.