The EU is being asked to approve an additional dose of Pfizer vaccine vials

PRAGUE / ROME (Reuters) – The European Union was asked on Tuesday to withdraw an additional dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, from each vial, a practice permitted elsewhere and making scarce stocks continue.

Experts say it’s possible to get six doses from each vial, more than the five approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis said he had raised the issue with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in order to get EMA approval for the extra shot as soon as possible.

The vaccine, made by Pfizer of the United States and the German biotech startup BioNTech, is the only vaccine so far approved by the EU and is already being administered.

But supplies are tight and increasing coronavirus infections are pushing hospitals to their limits.

BioNTech said each vial was guaranteed to deliver five doses, but it was possible to extract a sixth with the correct needle and syringe.

“We are in talks with regulatory authorities if and how the sixth dose, as well as the required needles or syringes for such a low dead volume system, could be made available,” said a BioNTech spokesperson.

Italian regulators have already approved the inclusion of six doses, setting aside EMA guidelines for the EU as a whole.

Similar approvals have been issued by regulators in the United States, Great Britain, Switzerland and Israel – all of which have started their vaccination campaigns earlier.

Søren Brostrom, head of the Danish health authority, said it was even possible to get a seventh dose from some Pfizer vials, and that it would be possible to vaccinate more than the 250,000 people envisioned in the first two months of the Danish campaign.

The EU has agreements to purchase a total of 2 billion vaccine doses, which will be distributed among Member States in proportion to their population. EMA did not respond to a request for comment.