DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD

Pfizer’s Six-Dose Vaccine Vials Could Backfire

The company may ship fewer vials to the U.S. because its contract says an extra dose can be extracted from every one.

The news earlier this winter that a sixth dose could be extracted from every vial of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine was seen as a boon as the U.S. hurried to inoculate as many people as possible. But now it turns out there may be a downside. The New York Times reports that Pfizer lobbied the FDA to have its contract changed to say that every vial has six doses—and that means the company believes it is closer to fulfilling the obligations of the contract and will ship fewer vials than expected. That’s a problem because not all vaccine sites have access to the special syringes needed to get the very last drops out of the vial. The result: the U.S. is paying for doses that are being wasted, and Pfizer isn’t planning on replacing those.