Moderna is asking the FDA to allow them to increase the amount of vaccine put into each of their vials by up to 50 percent, CNBC reports. According to The New York Times, the industry standard has long been 10 doses per vaccine vial. However, the manufacturer says it could raise the number of doses per vial up to 15, as long as it is approved by the FDA. And for more ways to protect yourself from coronavirus, These 3 Vitamins Could Save You From Severe COVID, Study Finds. According to The New York Times, the White House and health officials are trying to explore various ways to increase vaccine production before the spring, as experts expect a new surge of infections then as a result of emerging coronavirus variants. Experts say that vaccine production speeds are currently lacking. “We are having trouble producing these mRNA vaccines,” Paul Offit, MD, director of the Vaccine Education Center and a physician at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, told CNBC. “We’re up to about 1.2 million doses a day when we need to be at 3 million doses a day.“ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb A source close to Moderna told CNBC that a large issue slowing production speeds is the manufacturing capacity to fill the vials. The ability to fill each vial with more doses could alleviate this issue and increase the number of vaccines produced. And for a pressing reason to get vaccinated, Dr. Fauci Just Issued This New Chilling Warning About COVID. Pfizer’s vaccine was originally manufactured to hold five doses per vial. However, The New York Times reported on Dec. 16 that pharmacists had discovered that most of Pfizer’s vials actually contained enough product for an extra dose. On Jan. 6, the FDA made an amendment to its authorization in order to allow providers to use this sixth dose. That is as high as Pfizer’s vaccine can go, however, as the particular size of their vials can only hold about six doses—much smaller than Moderna’s, which is big enough to hold more than the 10 doses currently allowed. And for more up-to-date information, sign up for our daily newsletter. There are some issues that may make regulators hesitant to approve this request from Moderna. According to The New York Times, regulators could be concerned that the extra punctures by needles and the time required to extract extra doses might increase the risk of contaminating the vaccine with bacteria. Also, too much liquid could cause the vial to break, but Moderna has reportedly tested this and determined that vials won’t break at a limit of 15 doses. And for more essential vaccine guidance, You Should Never Do This After Getting the COVID Vaccine, Officials Say.
