In a significant development for the U.S. vaccine rollout, federal authorities have granted Moderna the go-ahead to distribute vaccine vials that contain 50 percent more doses. This approval comes just a day after a manufacturing mishap led to the loss of up to 15 million doses of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine.
On Thursday, regulators confirmed that each vial of Moderna’s vaccine will now hold 15 doses, up from the previous 10. This change is expected to enhance the vaccine supply considerably, enabling Moderna to fulfill its commitments to provide hundreds of millions of doses to the U.S. in the upcoming months. The company has pledged to deliver a total of 200 million doses by the end of May, and 300 million by the end of July, which is sufficient to fully vaccinate about 150 million individuals with the two-dose regimen.
“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. Ultimately, more vaccines getting to the public in a timely manner should help bring an end to the pandemic more rapidly,” stated the FDA in their announcement.
Prior to the official approval, the FDA had indicated its support for the 15-dose vials, allowing Moderna to begin production in advance. The company anticipates starting shipments of these fuller vials within the next few weeks. Additionally, the FDA has authorized vaccine distributors to extract an 11th dose from the existing 10-dose vials when possible. Although this will result in less waste, it does require a special syringe that has been in limited supply for months. Health officials warn that without sufficient supplies of these syringes, only 13 doses may be extracted from the new 15-dose vials.
Nevertheless, even obtaining 13 doses is a step up from the 10 previously possible. Federal health officials are optimistic that this decision will accelerate production and distribution in the coming months, supporting President Joe Biden’s commitment to have enough vaccine supply available for every adult by May 1—a promise that faced challenges due to the Johnson & Johnson situation. In response, at least 46 states have committed to expanding vaccine eligibility to all adults by or before May 1.
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In summary, Moderna’s approval to ship fuller vials of its vaccine marks a crucial step in enhancing the U.S. vaccination effort, helping to address supply shortages and speeding up the distribution process.