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The lack of a standard of the General Directorate of Health that allows preparing six doses for each bottle of Pfizer vaccine has already forced to waste an amount that would give to vaccinate six thousand Portuguese, reveals the “Expresso”.
According to the weekly, the waste “is very widespread among European countries and is due to the inaction of the European Medicines Agency in approving the request of the first supplier laboratory, Pfizer, to prepare six and not five doses per bottle.”
The dose change request was submitted to the European regulator on December 30, but remains unanswered.
However, Infarmed has found an internal solution and has already authorized the preparation of six doses per bottle, a procedure that is not yet in practice due to the lack of a regulation from the Directorate General of Health (DGS).
Speaking to “Expresso”, the coordinator of the National Vaccination Plan against covid-19, Francisco Ramos, confirmed the need for a rule that allows ending the waste of one dose per bottle, but guaranteed that the guidance “is ready. to be posted “.
According to “Expresso”, as of Tuesday “32,000 vaccines had been administered, that is, 6,000 vials were opened and one dose of each was discarded.”
According to the newspaper, in addition to Infarmed, other drug regulators adopted Pfizer’s new recommendations and the six-dose preparation was soon put into practice, as happened in Italy, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Israel and the United States.
The Pfizer vaccine was the first to be licensed and to arrive in Portugal. Moderna’s, which also involves two administrations, begins delivery next week (260,000 units through March) and is ready to use.
It will arrive in containers of five or ten units (doses) and does not require reconstitution ”, says Francisco Ramos.
Without wasting one dose per bottle of Pfizer vaccine, writes “Expresso”, “only in January it would be possible to protect 31,900 Portuguese, with two doses, in addition to what was planned.”
In Portugal, the vaccination campaign against covid-19 began on December 27 in hospitals, encompassing health professionals, and has already spread to nursing homes.
The first phase of the vaccination plan, until the end of March, also covers professionals from the armed forces, security forces and critical services.
In this phase, people from the age of 50 with at least one of the following pathologies will also be vaccinated, starting in February: heart failure, coronary heart disease, kidney failure or chronic respiratory disease on ventilatory support and / or long-term oxygen therapy. .
The second phase begins in April and includes people aged 65 and over and people aged 50 to 64, including at least one of the following conditions: diabetes, active neoplasia, chronic kidney disease. , liver failure, hypertension, obesity and other less prevalent diseases that can be defined later, based on scientific knowledge.
In the third phase, the rest of the population will be vaccinated on a date to be determined.
People who will be vaccinated throughout the year will be contacted by the National Health Service (SNS).
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