(Reuters) – Moderna Inc said on Monday that it is proposing to fill scales with additional doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to ease manufacturing constraints as the company approaches the production of nearly a million doses a day. .
“The company proposes that the vials be filled with additional doses of vaccine, up to 15 doses compared to the current ten doses,” Moderna said in an email.
“Modern will need to hold further discussions with the FDA to ensure the agency’s convenience with this approach before applying it,” the company said, referring to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The president of Moderna, Stephen Hoge, said in the statement that the additional doses will help address the constraints on capacity, noting that “beyond the amount of available drug products, how many vials you can fill in a given period . “
CNBC reported Friday that Moderna has asked the FDA for permission to fill its COVID-19 vaccination dishes with five additional doses.
US distribution of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine began in December following the FDA’s authorization for emergency use, making it the second COVID-19 vaccine to be approved in the United States.
The FDA told Reuters in December that extra doses of the vials could be used with Pfizer Inc.’s COVID-19 vaccine after reports that pharmacists had discarded the vaccines due to confusion.
As of Monday morning, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has administered 32,222,402 doses of COVID-19 vaccines and distributed 49,936,450 doses.
Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Edited by Leslie Adler