Moderna Seeks to Add 50 Percent More Doses to Its COVID-19 Vaccine Vials

Moderna said it is in discussions with the FDA over a proposal to fill its COVID-19 vaccine vials with up to 50 percent more doses to help increase the pace of inoculations in the U.S.

If the FDA approves the proposal to increase the number of doses from 10 to up to 15, it would help reduce holdups in filling vials, the company said. Moderna President Stephen Hoge explained that one of the capacity constraints beyond the amount of drug product available is how many vials that can be filled in a given period.

However, some experts see possible downsides to the Moderna proposal. The risk of contamination “goes up the more times one must enter the vial” as does the chance of waste if people aren’t immediately available to be vaccinated, said Brian Wispelwey, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Virginia. But he also acknowledged the urgent need to accelerate vaccinations.

The FDA declined to comment on the proposal, but the agency reportedly could decide on the issue within weeks.

Moderna, which is nearing its manufacturing capacity of almost 1 million doses per day, had delivered more than 30 million doses to the U.S. government as of Jan. 26 (DID, Feb. 3), with the final delivery of its 200 million shots expected to be shipped by the end of the second quarter.

The government is also eligible to order an additional 300 million doses. Moderna said last week it was in discussions with U.S. officials about delivering 100 million of those doses in the third quarter this year. ― Jason Scott