A health care worker will hold a coronavirus infection (COVID-19) vaccine vial at Glendale Health Dignity Memorial Hospital and Health Center in Glendale, California, USA, December 17, 2020.
Lucy Nicholson | Reuters
The European Union was asked on Tuesday to allow an extra dose of the Covid-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech to be removed from each vial, a permitted use elsewhere that would make scarce supplies go further.
Experts say it is possible to get six doses from each vial, more than the five approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis said he had raised the issue with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen with a view to seeking EMA approval for the additional photo as soon as possible.
The vaccine, manufactured by US Pfizer and German biotech startup BioNTech, is the only EU approved to date, and is already being administered.
But the materials are tight and coronavirus infections are on the rise stretching hospitals to a minimum.
BioNTech said it was certain that each vial would take five doses, but that, with the right needle and syringe, it was possible to take out a sixth.
“We are in discussions with regulatory authorities as to whether and how a sixth dose, in addition to the needles or syringes required for such a low-fat system, could be available. , “a BioNTech spokesperson said.
Italian regulators have already approved six doses, going beyond EMA guidelines for the EU as a whole.
Similar agreements have been reached with regulators in the United States, Britain, Switzerland and Israel – all of whom began their vaccination campaigns earlier.
Soren Brostrom, head of the Danish Health Authority, said it was possible to extract even the seventh dose from some Pfizer vials, and that it would be possible to vaccinate more than 250,000 people expected in the first two months of a campaign of Denmark.
The EU has signed treaties to buy 2 billion doses of vaccine, which will be distributed to member states according to their numbers. The EMA did not respond to a request for comment.