TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s Terumo Corp said Tuesday it has developed a new syringe that can receive seven doses from each vial of COVID-19 vaccine made by Pfizer Inc, at least one more than available with existing syringes.
The Department of Health approved the design Friday, and Terumo will begin production in late March, a Terumo spokesperson told Reuters. The Kyodo News agency, which first reported the development, said Terumo is aiming for 20 million copies this year.
The vaccine made by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech is shipped in vials initially intended for five doses. Six doses can be taken with special syringes, called a low dead space, which minimize the amount of vaccine left in the syringe after use.
Japan started its COVID-19 vaccination campaign with Pfizer’s vaccine last month. Taro Kono, the minister responsible for the effort, said on Friday that some shots could be lost due to a shortage of specialty syringes.
Reporting by Noriyuki Hirata and Rocky Swift in Tokyo; Editing by Lincoln Feast.