Pfizer is developing a version of its coronavirus vaccine that can be stored up to six months in “normal refrigeration,” according to the company’s chief executive.
The current Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which was the first coronavirus vaccine candidate to be authorized for emergency use on Dec. 11, 2020, must be stored at ultracold temperatures and has a more limited shelf life if kept in normal refrigeration.
“We are right now working on a new version of this vaccine that will be ready-to-use vaccine, so you don’t need to reconstitute it. You don’t need to dilute it,” CEO Albert Bourla said during a Wednesday discussion on vaccine rollout hosted by Axios.
Bourla added that “all the focus right now” is on making the vaccine easier to store and easier to distribute.
WALGREENS AND CVS RESPONSIBLE FOR MAJORITY OF WASTED CORONAVIRUS VACCINES: REPORT
“As you know, we are right now registered in minus 70 degrees Celsius, but we could use it two weeks in a normal freezer,” the Pfizer CEO said.
That requirement has caused a number of vaccine doses to spoil, as pharmacies and other vaccination administrators suffered refrigeration malfunctions or left doses at room temperature, according to a recent report from Kaiser Health News.
Bourla’s announcement follows the Food and Drug Administration’s May 10 decision to authorize the two-dose Pfizer vaccine for use in 12- to 15-year-olds.
Pfizer petitioned the FDA for use authorization in young people after trial results in March found the shots were 100% efficacious and produced a “robust antibody response.” The U.S.-based trial enrolled 2,260 adolescents in the age range. All 18 of the COVID-19 cases occurred in the placebo group, and none occurred within the vaccinated group.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
As of Wednesday, 60.2% of adults have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, while 37.8% of the total population is fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
