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US hospitals have found extra doses in some vials of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine. But the manufacturer has yet to issue a recommendation.
When boxes of Pfizer vaccines began arriving in U.S. hospitals this week, hospital pharmacists faced an apparently encouraging situation: Some of the glass bottles that were supposed to hold five doses had enough for a sixth or even one. seventh person.
Although the scenario has raised hopes that the limited supply of the vaccine could be extended to reach more people, on the other hand, it has also sparked a wave of confusion and debate over whether to use or discard too many doses.
Northwell Health, the largest private healthcare provider in New York state, estimated, for example, that the hospital chain could have discarded enough vaccine for 15 to 20 doses, while it awaited guidance from state health officials.
The answer, albeit with little rigor, came on Wednesday: the “Food and Drug Administration” (FDA), the authority that regulates the use of drugs in the United States, said that, “given the public health emergency”, it was acceptable use all the remaining doses from each bottle, but added that it was contacting Pfizer to determine “the best way to go ahead” and advised healthcare workers not to combine the doses from multiple bottles.
For its part, Pfizer responded in a statement that there is a uniform amount of vaccine in each vial, but that the amount left over after withdrawing five doses may vary depending on the type of syringes and needles used, as well as the amount of diluent solution used. . Also indicating that he is consulting the US regulator on the situation, the pharmacist has not yet given a recommendation on the use of the surplus from each bottle and has advised the professionals who are administering the doses to consult with local institutions.
The American pharmaceutical company manufactured enough vaccines to supply the United States, before the end of the year, with at least 25 million doses, enough for 12.5 million people, since two sweets are needed per person. But federal authorities are allocating them cautiously, having distributed just 2.9 million doses, since the regulator authorized their use in an emergency on Friday. As the vaccine is scarce, it is being administered, in a first phase, to first-line health professionals, residents and staff of nursing homes; it will still be several months before the vaccine is widely available.
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