Pfizer and BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine can be stored in warmer temperatures

Pfizer and BioNTech have submitted new data to the US Food and Drug Administration that validates the stability of their COVID-19 vaccine in warmer temperatures.

The vaccine labels currently state that the injection must be stored in temperatures between minus eighty degrees Celsius and minus sixty degrees Celsius for up to six months. The vaccine is dispatched in a uniquely designed shipping container that can be used as temporary storage for approximately four weeks. Also, the vaccine can be refrigerated for up to five days at standard refrigerator temperature before mixing with a saline diluent.

Pfizer and BioNTech’s new data validates that their vaccine can be stored at temperatures of minus twenty-five degrees Celsius to minus fifteen degrees Celsius. If the FDA approves, the vaccine would be held in lower temperatures for two weeks instead of the ultra-low temperature freezer.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Pfizer, Albert Bourla, stated: “We have been continuously performing stability studies to support the production of the vaccine at commercial scale, with the goal of making the vaccine as accessible as possible for healthcare providers and people across the US and around the world. We appreciate our ongoing collaboration with the FDA and CDC as we work to ensure our vaccine can be shipped and stored under increasingly flexible conditions. If approved, this new storage option would offer pharmacies and vaccination centres greater flexibility in how they manage their vaccine supply.”