Scientists from Brazil have found a way to get vaccinated against coronavirus infection with maximum vaccine savings. This was reported by Izvestia.
It is noted that now, after each vaccination, an average of 40 to 560 microliters of vaccine falls into waste. Experts considered the situation when the drug is stored in vials, which are designed for five injections. To extract and inject a dose of 0.3 milliliters, the scientists used syringes with volumes of one and three milliliters in combination with different types of injection needles. Any syringe has a so-called dead volume, in which a little of the injected drug always remains. The scientists noted that reducing this volume would help reduce vaccine wastage.
In the course of the study, it turned out that the most economical are syringes, the volume of which is one milliliter. It is noted that they should be used in conjunction with 23G type needles. These syringes provide the highest drug withdrawal rate from the vial. They take six doses from a container of serum instead of five. Vaccine savings in this case are 20 to 40 percent.
Also, the researchers proposed to use a special method of vaccine administration, in which the drug is completely removed from the syringe. For this, the required dose of serum should be sucked in, and from the side of the piston it is necessary to fill a small space with 0.1-0.2 milliliters of air, which will push the vaccine remaining in the needle and syringe. This will allow you to use one bottle not for five, but for seven doses at once.
There are currently several COVID-19 vaccines in the world. Thus, two vaccines are registered in Russia: Sputnik V and EpiVacCorona. On December 5, Moscow started vaccination against coronavirus with Sputnik V. Pfizer / BioNTech has a COVID-19 vaccine registered in the United States and another developed by Moderna. Also, the British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca announced the beginning of clinical trials for a combination of its AZD1222 vaccine.
