A detail of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.
Allen J. Cockroaches | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images
Moderna said Monday it has received “positive feedback” from the Food and Drug Administration on its proposal to increase the number of Covid-19 vaccine doses in each of its vials.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one vial of Moderna’s dual vaccine contains ten doses, enough to inoculate five people. CNBC reported last month that Moderna had asked the FDA for permission to fill its Covid-19 vaccine vials with up to five additional doses to alleviate a manufacturing bottleneck.
In a prepared testimony submitted Tuesday ahead of a House hearing, the president of Moderna, Stephen Hoge, said that the U.S. agency has given the company “ positive feedback on our proposal and that we are pursuing a plan to deliver up to 15 doses. each bottle can be drawn. “
“This allows us to produce and deliver more doses more quickly,” Hoge told House Energy and Commerce Committee Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. “We will continue to work with our manufacturing partners and the federal government to increase the efficiency of our manufacturing process without compromising quality or safety.”
The revelation comes as President Joe Biden tries to ramp up the pace of vaccinations in the US after a slower-than-expected rollout under former President Donald Trump, and states are complaining they don’t have enough doses.
Biden announced on Feb. 11 that his government has entered into agreements with Pfizer and Moderna for an additional 200 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine, bringing the US total to 600 million. Since both authorized vaccines require two doses given approximately three to four weeks apart, a total of 600 million doses would be sufficient to inoculate 300 million people. The Biden government expects all of this to happen by the end of July.
It is unclear whether the increase in doses per vial is why Moderna now expects to deliver 300 million doses by the end of July.
In December, the FDA said healthcare providers could use additional doses from vials of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine. Those bottles were said to contain five doses, but some providers were able to extract a sixth or even a seventh dose. As with Pfizer, some healthcare providers have also been able to take an extra dose of Moderna vaccine with special syringes.