Pfizer Shipping Fewer CCP Virus Vaccine Vials to US After Finding Extra Doses

Homeless men and shelter staffers wait in an observation room after receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech CCP virus vaccine at the Open Hearth men's shelter in Hartford, Conn., on Jan. 22, 2021. Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images

Pfizer said Friday it will be shipping fewer CCP virus vaccine vials after finding an extra dose in each vial.

“We will fulfill our supply commitments in line with our existing agreements—which are based on delivery of doses, not vials—and we are confident in our ability to deliver 200 million doses of our vaccine to the U.S. government by July 31,” a Pfizer spokesperson told news outlets.

“In a situation of limited vaccine supply amidst a public health crisis, our intent with this label change is to provide clarity to health care providers, minimize vaccine wastage, and enable the most efficient use of the vaccine.”

Each vial contains a certain number of doses. When vaccine administration began late last year, health personnel were told that each vial held five doses. They’re now being told that each vial contains six doses, according to documents from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), though labels on the vials may state that only five doses are in a vial.

Marion Gruber, director of the administration’s Office of Vaccines Research and Review, said in a letter to Pfizer earlier this month that the FDA concurred with Pfizer “that there are six 0.3 mL doses in a vial of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID‑19 Vaccine.”

“Accordingly, we also concur with the related updates to the Fact Sheet for Healthcare Providers Administering Vaccine (Vaccination Providers) that clarify that, after dilution, one vial of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine contains six doses of 0.3 mL,” Gruber said.

Pfizer is obligated to send 200 million doses to the United States by July 31, under agreements secured during the Trump administration.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), meanwhile, said Friday that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are not interchangeable.

The messenger RNA vaccines are the only two that are authorized for use in the United States against COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.

Patients receive two shots spaced several weeks apart.

“The safety and efficacy of a mixed-product series have not been evaluated. Both doses of the series should be completed with the same product,” the CDC stated in updated guidance.

“In exceptional situations in which the first-dose vaccine product cannot be determined or is no longer available, any available mRNA COVID-19 vaccine may be administered at a minimum interval of 28 days between doses to complete the mRNA COVID-19 vaccination series,” it added.