Pfizer Has a Hiccup

Icegoddess · ‎03-19-2010

Just heard on the news that Pfizer has had a hiccup in their manufacturing and that the number of initial doses of their Covid vaccine to the US will be cut in half.

Kachina624 · ‎03-10-2010

Its going to be a long Spring and Summer.

New Mexico☀️Land Of Enchantment

Lipstickdiva · ‎03-10-2010

Why am I not surprised.

geezerette · ‎03-16-2010

Pfizer expects to ship only half of the COVID-19 vaccine doses this year that it originally planned due to supply chain obstacles, a near-term problem considering its ultra-cold storage requirement of minus 70 degrees Celsius. A company spokesperson stated that the headwinds were due to a later-than-expected data readout from the pivotal trial and challenges scaling up the raw material supply chain.
Ultra-cold chain requires special refrigerators for storage and dry ice for shipping, both out of the norm for the distribution of vaccines.
It expects to ship 50M doses globally by the end of the month compared to its original plan of 100M. It still expects to ship more than 1B doses in 2021. Shipments will be made from final assembly and distribution centers in Kalamazoo, MI and Puurs, Belgium.

SilleeMee · ‎05-22-2016

Another thing gone wrong in the year 2020. Just add it to the list.

tucsongal · ‎03-10-2010

Unfortunately, I think this is going to be a long and arduous process with many “hiccups“. Yet another opportunity to practice patience.

Skyegirl21 · ‎03-20-2010

I predict this is a bigger problem than a ' hiccup'. I doubt most establishments have that specialty refrigerators, and I bet they are costly and maybe difficult to get. A friend of mine waited 4 months for his replacement refrigerator due to Covid supply delays-

Further, I recently moved, and needed new goods and every single thing has been a 3 month order/ delay also...

Icegoddess · ‎03-19-2010

All of this is one reason I won't be getting in line to get the vaccine. I'll wait until they work out all the kinks in manufacturing and distribution. Also, I want more info on how long it is effective for. That sounds like another distribution SNAFU waiting to happen if it's something that has to be done every year or every 6 months to continue to be effective.

noodleann · ‎06-10-2015

@Icegoddess wrote:
Just heard on the news that Pfizer has had a hiccup in their manufacturing and that the number of initial doses of their Covid vaccine to the US will be cut in half.

Or they increased their commitment to Britain after getting approval there first and have less for everyone else. A 50% reduction is not a hiccup; it's real cause for concern with the company. Pfizer is a major player in the pharma world, and this requires investigation. If it's really a production problem, what else is amiss on that end?

From what I heard on NPR yesterday, AstraZeneca's vaccine won't be coming to the US at all (if approved here), at least initially. AZ is going to address the needs of the poorer countries that are being cut out of the mRMA vaccines. (I believe I heard that Moderna is committing all of its vaccine to the US, if it's approved.) Of course, poorer countries are less likely to have the infrastructure that could support the ridiculous storage requirements of Pfizer's vaccine. The handling of AZ's vaccine is far more reasonable and customary.

I sure hope no aspect of EUAs are going to be predicated on purported availability of the vaccine, and I really hope the fine minds going over the data will be scouring them for things that don't square, or holes.