Health

Expiration of Pfizer’s COVID-19 shot in Brazil raised to 18 months

The change applies to all Comirnaty doses produced on and after Jan. 9

Luciano Nascimento

Published on 12/01/2023 - 14:22

São Luís

Vacinas Covid-19 pediátricas da Pfizer-BioNTech — © Myke Sena/MS

Brazil’s drug authority Anvisa decided to extend to 18 months the expiration date of the Comirnaty vaccine, Pfizer’s monovalent inoculation against COVID-19.

The agency reported that the move applies to all forms of the product manufactured on or after January 9, 2023, authorized for use in children six months and older, adolescents, and adults. The previous period was 12 months.

“The approval was based on new data from stability studies conducted by Pfizer. These studies demonstrated that there is no change in the quality specifications of the vaccine during the added period,” the official statement reads.

For the bivalent versions of the inoculation, vaccines that contain specific strains of the Omicron variant of the virus, no change was made to the previously approved 12-month period, Anvisa added.