Detail of the Modern COVID-19 vaccine.
Allen J. Paneroles | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images
Modern said Monday it received “positive feedback” from the Food and Drug Administration on its proposal to increase the number of doses of Covid-19 vaccine in each of its vials.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one vial of the Modern Two vaccine contains ten doses, enough to inoculate five people. CNBC reported last month that Moderna had requested permission from the FDA to fill its Covid-19 vaccine vials with up to five additional doses to facilitate bottlenecks in manufacturing.
In the prepared testimony presented Tuesday before a hearing in the House, Moderna president Stephen Hoge said the U.S. agency gave the company “positive feedback on our proposal and we are following a plan which can allow up to 15 doses to be extracted from each vial. “
“This will allow us to produce and administer more doses more quickly,” Hoge told the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s oversight and research subcommittee. “We will continue to work with our manufacturing partners and the federal government to increase the efficiency of our production process without compromising quality or safety.”
The disclosure comes as President Joe Biden tries to pick up the pace of vaccinations in the U.S. after a slower-than-expected deployment under former President Donald Trump, and states complain that they don’t have enough doses.
Biden announced on February 11 that his administration had reached agreements with Pfizer and Moderna for another 200 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine, bringing the U.S. total to 600 million. Because the two authorized vaccines require two doses administered three to four weeks apart, a total of 600 million doses would be enough to inoculate 300 million people. The Biden administration expects all of this to be done by the end of July.
It is unclear whether the increase in roadside doses is why Moderna now expects to be able to administer 300 million doses by the end of July.
In December, the FDA said health care providers could use additional doses of vials of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine. These vials were said to contain five doses, but some vendors were able to extract a sixth or even seventh dose. As with Pfizer, some vendors have also been able to extract an additional dose of Moderna’s vaccine using special syringes.