FDA extends validity of Pfizer vaccines until October 31

The Minister of Public Health, Daniel Rivera, reported this Wednesday that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a three-month extension to the Pfizer vaccines that expire on July 31, extending their use until July 31. October.

“According to the favorable results in the stability studies of the Pfizer Biotech RNA vaccine against COVID-19, Pfizer obtained FDA approval for an additional three-month extension for the vaccine’s shelf life,” the minister stated. During the weekly meeting with the press.

As expressed by the official, this additional use time is not exclusive to the Dominican Republic but to countries such as the United States, Panama, and Costa Rica that also use this biological.

The new technical dossier has already been delivered to the General Directorate of Medicines, Food, and Health Products (Digemaps), and the batch numbers in stock have been confirmed in writing.

“The vaccine batches, whose expiration date in the bottle was July 31, will now have an expiration date of October 31, 2022,” the official highlighted.

He added that it is” good news because we have more time to continue vaccinating, we do not have to look for new resources and (take advantage of) this investment that we have there.”

Patients who have been infected in these weeks are asked to wait 30 days after their coronavirus infection to update their scheme.

Without letting your guard down

Minister Rivera assured that in Public Health, “we have never lowered our guard” in relation to COVID-19.

He said that resolution 008-2022 is still in force and that young people with four doses will have mild symptoms.

He pointed out that he awaits Congress’s approval for purchasing Pfizer children.” We want it to be this year,” she expressed with great desire.

“An attenuated virus vaccine, such as Sinovac, with a messenger RNA (Pfizer), provides better coverage for responses to variants that may occur; so far we are with the last one, which is omicron,” Rivera said.

“We are interested in the third and fourth dose and that of the children that it continues to rise,” he added.