The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Thursday approved storing Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine at standard freezer temperatures, helping to facilitate storage requirements that could facilitate vaccine delivery.
Previously, the Pfizer vaccine had to be stored in ultra-cold freezers between less than 112 degrees Fahrenheit and minus 76 degrees Fahrenheit. This posed a challenge for vaccine distribution in places such as rural areas or low-income countries that do not have widespread ultra-cold storage capacity.
The new move will allow the vaccine to be stored at “conventional temperatures that are commonly found in pharmaceutical freezers for a period of up to two weeks.”
“This alternative temperature for transporting and storing undiluted vials is significant and allows the vials to be transported and stored in more flexible conditions,” Peter Marks, one of the FDA’s top vaccine officials, said in a statement.
“The alternative temperature for transport and storage will help alleviate the burden of purchasing ultra-low cold storage equipment for vaccination sites and should help get the vaccine to more places,” he added.
Pfizer had asked the FDA for less stringent storage requirements last week, after conducting studies on safe storage temperatures.
In addition, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which could be authorized by the FDA as soon as this weekend, has been eagerly awaited not only because it will be added to the U.S. vaccine supply, but because it does not require storage. ultra-cold.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is also just a shot, while the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have a two-dose regimen.