Six doses of the COVID-19 vaccine can be obtained from one vial of the COVID-XNUMX vaccine. Unfortunately, this sixth dose is discarded because, according to approved medical procedures, only five doses of the vaccine can be given from a single vial. – The heart ached, but we had to pour it out – said prof. Jarosław Drobik, chief epidemiologist of the University Teaching Hospital at ul. Borowska in Wrocław. Will the procedures be changed?
- According to the Summary of Product Characteristics of the coronavirus vaccine, five doses of the product can be obtained from one vial. However, practice shows that there can be more of them and they do not lose their quality and safety
- The Ministry of Health issued a recommendation on this, but there is no official EMA decision yet that could change the procedures for administering the vaccine
- So far, the sixth dose has been wasted
- You can find more up-to-date information on the TvoiLokony home page
How many doses can I get from one vial of COVID-19 vaccine?
According to the characteristics of the medical product of the Comirnaty coronavirus vaccine – one vial of the preparation can be diluted with five doses of the vaccine, 0,3 ml each.
However, as practice shows and as pointed out in its announcement by the Ministry of Health, one vial of the preparation can provide up to seven doses of the vaccine with a capacity of 0,3 ml. What happens to extra doses (that is, when more than five doses can be obtained from one vial)?
— The heart ached, but we had to pour it out – said Professor Jarosław Drobnik, chief epidemiologist of the University Teaching Hospital at ul. Borowska in Wrocław, quoted by the «Polska Times».
On Wednesday evening (30.12/XNUMX), the Ministry of Health published a special report in which it recommends that if it is possible to obtain six doses of the vaccine, then all six should be given.
– We will get acquainted with this opinion and decide what to do next – said the spokeswoman of the hospital Monika Kowalska.
The hospital in Wrocław has already vaccinated over 2000 people, which means that it has used 400 vials of the vaccine. From some of them it was possible to obtain a sixth dose, but unfortunately, due to the official procedure, it was not possible. As reported today by the Ministry of Health, over 40 have already been vaccinated in Poland. people, which means that an additional approx. 8 thousand. doses of the vaccine were wasted.
Not every vial is six doses
Professor Drobik makes a point that not each vial can produce more than five properly prepared doses of the vaccine.
– During the training, the representatives of the vaccine manufacturer, Pfizer, explained that the sixth dose was in reserve. If something splashed, spilled or smashed – added Kowalska in an interview with the Polish Times.
In the previously mentioned report of the Ministry of Health, we can read that «in the opinion of the Minister of Health and the National Consultant for hospital pharmacy, obtaining and administering six doses from one vial of the product is optimal, acceptable and safe«. There is one condition – each dose of the vaccine must contain the full dose of the drug, i.e. 0,3 ml.
The announcement also reads that the European Medicines Agency is working on a change in this regard, especially since in the United Kingdom and the United States it is allowed to administer six doses of the preparation obtained from one vial.
We still have to wait for official changes to the vaccination procedure.
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