Covid-19: the sixth dose of the Pfizer vaccine creates controversy
Initially, it was planned to extract five doses from each vial of Pfizer's vaccine, there was always a little left in it, a safety margin, sufficient to be able to constitute a sixth dose.
The maneuver to take it is delicate, but doable.
But Pfizer does not hear it that way.
The laboratory considers that states have ordered doses, not vials.
AFP - THOMAS KIENZLE
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
The controversy swells in Europe after the announcement of Pfizer.
The laboratory has indeed announced to reduce deliveries of its vaccine, because we can extract a sixth dose from each vial, instead of the five doses announced.
But now, the technique to do it is delicate, and this additional dose is not ensured each time at the risk therefore for the States to end up with fewer doses in total than expected.
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Initially, it was planned to extract five doses from each vial of Pfizer's vaccine, there was always a little left in it, a margin of safety.
But we quickly realized that this was sufficient to be able to constitute a sixth dose.
The maneuver to take it is delicate, you need syringes and needles that do not waste a drop of the product, but it is a maneuver doable.
This is therefore good news since European states may end up with more doses than they ordered.
Indeed, Europe has ordered 600 million doses of the vaccine, or originally 120 million vials, with the bonus dose, so we could have had 720 million doses in total.
But
Pfizer
does not hear it that way, the laboratory considers that the States have ordered doses, and not vials.
It therefore intends to deliver the 600 million doses planned, but with only 100 million bottles.
Obviously, in Europe, this decision goes wrong since the States thought to buy a bottle of five doses with potentially a bonus, they now pay the same price for 6 doses, the last of which is not guaranteed.
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To read: Italy: the rate of vaccinations drops due to a lack of vaccines
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