By Grace Kuria
European Medicines Agency (EMA’s) human medicines committee on Monday recommended a change to the approved storage conditions of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, that will facilitate its handling.
In a statement, EMA said that, “this change extends the approved storage period of the unopened thawed vial at 2-8°C (i.e. in a normal fridge after taking out of deep-freeze conditions) from five days to one month (31 days).”
The change was approved following assessment of additional stability study data submitted to EMA by the marketing authorization holder.
Increased flexibility in the storage and handling of the vaccine is expected to have a significant impact on planning and logistics of vaccine roll-out in various countries.
