FDA says Pfizer vaccine bottles contain extra doses

A Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine vial.
(Image credit: Justin Tallis-Pool/Getty Images)

The Food and Drug Administration announced on Wednesday evening that Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine vials are supposed to hold five doses, but pharmacists have discovered a way to get one or two extra doses out of the bottles.

The FDA had told pharmacists the vials contain five doses, but it's been found that because they are overfilled in case of spillage, each vial could hold up to seven doses. Some pharmacists threw away the extra doses because they did not want to be in violation of the FDA's emergency use guidelines, but the agency told Politico that "given the public health emergency, FDA is advising that it is acceptable to use every full dose obtainable."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.