Pfizer’s Covid vaccine can now be stored in a regular refrigerator for up to a month – worldwide

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) announced on Monday that a vial of BioNTech / Pfizer anticovid-19 vaccine can be stored in a regular refrigerator for up to one month, in the hope that the change will facilitate the vaccination process at the European level.

In a statement, the European regulator explained that its Human Medicines Committee “recommended changing the approved storage conditions for Comirnaty, the vaccine against Covid-19 developed by BioNTech and Pfizer, which will facilitate the handling of the vaccine in vaccination centers. European Union.”

In particular, “this change extends from five days to one month – 31 days – the approved period for storing an unopened and thawed bottle at 2-8 ° C, that is, in a regular fridge after removing the freezer,” adds the EMA.

The European Agency explains that this decision comes after analyzing “additional data from the preservation study provided to the EMA by the marketing authorization holder”, adding that it hopes that this “greater flexibility in storing and handling the vaccine will have a significant impact on planning and logistics for vaccine management in Member States.” In the European Union. “

The European regulator concludes that it is still in “an ongoing dialogue with holders of vaccines to market against Covid-19”, that is, pharmaceutical companies, if they want “to introduce improvements in manufacturing to improve the distribution of vaccines in the European Union.”

Based on messenger RNA technology, the Comirnaty vaccine (brand name Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine) is one of four vaccines approved in the European Union, the drugs Moderna, Faxsephria (the new name of the drug from AstraZeneca) and Janssen (Johnson & Johnson Group) have been added.

The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) online tool for tracking of vaccination in the European Union, which is based on notifications from member states, reveals that 14.4% of the population in the European Union has so far had complete vaccination (UE). Two doses of the Covid-19 vaccine), while about 36% received the first dose

In absolute terms, this equates to 183 million doses of vaccines administered out of the 217 million doses received, as ECDC data always relies on country communications.

In addition to the continued delay in the delivery of vaccines and doses less than those contracted by the drug company AstraZeneca, the European vaccination campaign was characterized by rare cases of side effects such as blood clots after taking this drug, a relationship confirmed by Europeans. Regulator, as it actually happened with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

The Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine has been most requested by the European Commission to overcome these problems and to maintain the vaccination rate in the European Union.