Corona vaccine: this one thing surprises even doctors!
The one thing about the COVID vaccine that surprises even doctors! Finally, some good news from the vaccination front!
After the vaccine was introduced, medical experts have been pleasantly surprised.
It’s safe to say that there have been few pleasant surprises related to the coronavirus pandemic. Most notable is the fact that two breakthrough vaccines have been developed recently, both with efficacy rates approaching 95 percent. But short supplies of COVID vaccines have pleasantly surprised doctors when they arrive for one reason: extra doses are included in many vials.
According to reports from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), health care workers have found that their scheduled vaccinations have gone further than expected. “It’s pretty unusual to have a full extra dose or more, but it seems to be there!” Erin Fox, a pharmacist at the University of Utah who monitors drug shortages, told Politico. Read on to learn more about this benefit of the COVID vaccine. For more peer-reviewed facts about vaccination, see Dr. Fauci dispels 4 biggest myths about the COVID vaccine.
The FDA says doctors are free to use their extra doses
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Pfizer’s vaccine was first marketed on Dec. 13 and came in vials that were supposed to contain five doses each. But doctors administering the vaccines soon discovered that most vials contained much more than advertised, six or even seven doses from one vial.
According to the government, this means there is simply more to give out. “Given the public health emergency, FDA advises using every full dose (the sixth or possibly even a seventh) from each vial until the issue is resolved,” the agency shared in a tweet. For more information on what exactly is in each vial, see This is what’s really in the COVID vaccine.
This could help avoid a potential shortage in the coming months.
One or two extra shots per vial may not sound like much, but they certainly add up. According to Politico, the discovery increases the national supply of the scarce vaccine by 40 percent. Experts now say that this surplus could help avoid a “vaccine cliff” that could occur in the spring when the vaccine becomes available to the general public. For more information on how to prepare for vaccination, see The CDC warns you about these side effects of the COVID vaccine.
Technically, the extra doses of vaccine in the vials are no accident.
Even though COVID-19 vaccine is currently a precious commodity, it is not uncommon for vials of such products to be shipped somewhat overfilled. Pharmaceutical companies typically overfill the vials in anticipation of spills and circumstantial waste to keep the products usable up to their minimum advertised dose.
“It’s not incorrect dosing,” former FDA Commissioner David Kessler, MD, said Dec. 16 on Rachel Maddow’s MSNBC show. “It’s not sloppiness. It is because of the way these vials are constructed.” If you want regular updates on COVID, sign up for our daily newsletter.
A significant amount of the vaccine is needed to restore “normal life”.
The plan is to vaccinate those most at risk first – specifically health care workers, nursing home residents and people with pre-existing conditions – and experts say vaccine doses are not expected to be released to the general public until spring. However, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci, a significant portion of the population needs to get vaccinated to restore some normalcy – and the additional doses may help make that happen even sooner.
“I would say 50 percent of the population needs to get vaccinated before you see an effect,” Fauci said in a Dec. 15 interview with NPR. “But I would say 75 to 85 percent need to be vaccinated if you’re going to have widespread herd immunity.” For more information you should know about the vaccine, see The COVID Vaccine Could Temporarily Paralyze This Body Part, FDA Warns.