The FDA told Moderna that it can put 14 doses of its COVID-19 vaccine into its vials, which were previously only approved to hold 10 doses, The New York Times reported Feb. 12.
Currently, about half of the U.S. COVID-19 vaccine stock is supplied by Moderna. Allowing the drugmaker to fit 14 doses into its vials could increase the country’s vaccine supply by as much as 20 percent.
The agency gave Moderna approval to make the switch so that the national COVID-19 vaccine supply can increase at a faster rate, but it asked the drugmaker to produce more data showing that storing 14 doses in each vial will not compromise the vaccine's efficacy, according to the Times.
Reworking Moderna's manufacturing operations to accommodate the switch could be done before the end of April, two anonymous sources familiar with the drugmaker's production told the Times.
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