|
 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also authorized
vaccinators to extract a maximum of 11 doses from the current vials,
instead of the ten previously permitted.
In a statement, Moderna said its vaccine can now can be supplied in
vials containing 11 or 15 doses, and it expected to begin shipping
15-dose vials in coming weeks.
"Both of these revisions positively impact the supply of Moderna
COVID-19 Vaccine, which will help provide more vaccine doses to
communities and allow shots to get into arms more quickly," Peter
Marks, director of FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and
Research, said.
However, the regulator also warned that without proper syringes and
needles it may not be possible to extract more that 13 doses from
Moderna's 15 dose vials, and more than 10 doses from the current
vials.
[to top of second column] |
 Moderna has supplied 100
million doses of its vaccine to the United
States as of March 29. Pfizer/BioNTech and
Johnson & Johnson's shots are the other two
vaccines approved in the country.
With rising cases and several states even
lifting mask mandates and with more infectious
variants also spreading, health authorities are
hoping that the contracts it struck with the
currently approved vaccine makers will be enough
for its entire population.
U.S. top infectious diseases doctor Anthony
Fauci told Reuters on Thursday that the country
may not need AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine even
if it wins U.S. regulatory approval.
(Reporting by Radhika Anilkumar and Shubham
Kalia in Bengaluru; editing by Uttaresh.V &
Simon Cameron-Moore)
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