(Reuters) – The U.S. Food & Drug Administration plans to approve the request from Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE to store their COVID-19 vaccine at standard freezing temperatures rather than ultra-cold conditions, the New York Times reported Tuesday.
The FDA is expected to announce the new guidelines to providers as early as Tuesday, changing documents regarding the emergency use permission previously granted for the vaccine, the NYT report said, citing people who are known with the issue.
Last week, the companies said they had asked the U.S. health regulator to relax the requirements for their COVID-19 vaccine for ultra-low temperature storage, potentially allowing it to be kept in pharmacy freezers.
In December, the FDA approved emergency use for the vaccine and current label to be stored at temperatures between -80 ° C and -60 ° C (-112 ° F to -76 ° F), meaning it must be shipped in specially designed containers.
On Monday, the US drug company said it expects to deliver more than 13 million doses of the jointly developed shot per week to the United States by mid-March, more than doubling the number of shipments from early February.
The US health service declined to comment on the report, while Pfizer did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
Reporting by Mrinalika Roy in Bengaluru; Adaptation by Shailesh Kuber and Amy Caren Daniel