Journal des essais cliniques
Libre accès

Abstrait

Evaluation of unused residues of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine: a community-based observational study

Stephen Hubbard*, Rajlaxmi Bais

Background: Global morbidity and mortality associated with COVID-19 are severe and persistent. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is reported to be up to 95% effective against severe disease or death. We were able to demonstrate that an additional 9.8% of COVID-19 vaccine doses could theoretically be delivered if residual vaccine from reconstituted Pfizer vials after six doses were extracted were used. This could be achieved by aseptically combining this excess vaccine from multiple vials to obtain full 0.3 mL doses.

Methods: An observational study was conducted in April 2021 at a mass vaccination site run by a community volunteer organization on Bainbridge Island, Washington. We measured the amount of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine remaining in 172 vials after six doses were withdrawn according to Centers for Disease Control (CDC) protocol.

Results: A total of 30.68 mL of remaining vaccine was measured and disposed of as medical waste. 1,036 doses were administered from these vials. Theoretically, an additional 102 doses could have been administered using the residual vaccine in the vials. This would have provided 9.8% more doses of COVID-19 vaccine without requiring new vials.

Conclusion: The possibility of combining solutions from reconstituted Pfizer vaccine vials to minimize waste and obtain additional vaccine doses could lead to an increase in the number of people who can be vaccinated worldwide without additional cost. Further studies to validate our results are needed. Clinical trials to study the feasibility, safety, and efficacy of protocols using this surplus vaccine should be considered.