Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine US Supply Could Rise 40% As FDA Clears Use Of Extra Doses In Vials

Extra doses contained in the vials of Pfizer Inc’s PFE COVID-19 vaccine do not need to be discarded, according to the United States Food and Drug Administration, Reuters reported Wednesday. 

What Happened: Labeling confusion had led to hospital pharmacists discarding one in every six doses of the vaccine made jointly by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech SE BNTX, Stat News had reported earlier.

The vaccine vials reportedly hold five doses as per the label but pharmacists found that they could potentially administer six or even seven doses. Without the manufacturer’s approval, these doses had to be thrown away.

FDA said in a statement that “given the public health emergency, FDA is advising that it is acceptable to use every full dose obtainable.” till the time the issue was resolved, according to Reuters.

“However, since the vials are preservative free, it is critical to note that any further remaining product that does not constitute a full dose should not be pooled from multiple vials to create one,” FDA noted.

Why It Matters: Squeezing the extra doses out of the vials could increase the U.S. supply of the Pfizer COVID-19 by as much as 40%, Politico reported.

The first tranche of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine constitutes 2.9 million doses. An additional 2 million doses of the vaccine up for allocation next week disclosed Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar on Wednesday, as per Reuters.

On Wednesday, a middle-aged health worker in Alaska had a severe allergic reaction to the vaccine which required overnight hospitalization, NBC News reported.

Moderna Inc’s MRNA COVID-19 vaccine’s application requesting emergency use authorization is due to be discussed by FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee on Thursday.

The Moderna vaccine could add 5.9 million doses to the U.S. supply next week, according to Azar.

Price Action: Pfizer shares closed 2.25% lower at $37.84 on Wednesday and fell 0.45% in the after-hours session. On the same day, BioNTech shares closed nearly 4.9% lower at $105.78 and fell 0.17% in the after-hours session.

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