Pfizer will ship fewer vials

Reduction will take into account the “extra” doses

In December, pharmacists discovered that they could squeeze an extra vaccine dose out of Pfizer vials that were supposed to contain only five.

Now, Pfizer plans to count the sixth dose toward its previous commitment of 200 million doses of COVID -19 vaccine by the end of July and will be providing fewer vials than once expected for the United States.

Pharmacists at some vaccination sites say they are still struggling to reliably extract the extra doses, which require the use of a specialty syringe.

For weeks, Pfizer executives pushed officials at the Food and Drug Administration to change the wording of the vaccine’s so-called emergency use authorization so that it formally acknowledged that the vials contained six doses, not five. Pfizer’s contract with the federal government requires that it be paid by the dose.

On Jan. 6, the FDA changed the language in its fact sheet for doctors to confirm that the vials contain a sixth dose.

When Pfizer first began shipping the vaccines in mid-december, it said each vial contained enough liquid for five doses. But pharmacists in hospitals across the country soon noticed that the vials held enough for a sixth dose.

Suddenly, it seemed as if the 100 million doses of vaccine that Pfizer has promised to the United States by the end of

March would stretch to as much as 120 million — a welcome development given the scarcity of COVID -19 vaccines.

But Pfizer insisted that those doses be counted toward its existing contract. It can now sell vials the United States had been expecting to other countries, or charge the United States for them.

The U.S. negotiations come as the Biden administration is said to be discussing the purchase of a third round of 100 million doses of Pfizer’s vaccine later in the year.

Pfizer and the federal government have agreed to track which sites are receiving the equipment needed to extract the additional dose. The company will not charge the United States for six doses per vial at sites that don’t have that equipment, according to a person familiar with the negotiations who was not authorized to speak because the talks are confidential.