WHO authorizes extension of the shelf-life of Pfizer-BioNTech

27/09/2021

On 20 September 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) authorized an extension of the shelf-life of unopened vials of the Pfizer-BioNTech Comirnaty vaccine from 6 to 9 months, provided they have been stored at between 90°C and -60°C.  Unopened vials stored between -25°C and -15°C continue to be authorized for use for a single period of up to two weeks and, for unopened thawed vaccine stored between 2°C and 8°C, from 5 to 31 days, within the authorized shelf-life of 9 months.  

The three-month extension in the shelf-life of this vaccine applies to vials manufactured after 10 September 2021, the date on which the European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved the change, and can be applied retroactively to vaccine vials manufactured before this date, provided that the approved storage conditions of -90° C to -60°C have been met.

Source: https://extranet.who.int/pqweb/vaccines/who-recommendation-covid-19-mrna-vaccine-nucleoside-modifiedcomirnaty

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