Moderna has asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for permission to fill its COVID-19 vaccine vials with up to five additional doses to ease a bottleneck in manufacturing. The availability of COVID-19 vaccines has been a source of frustration since their clearance in the U.S. in mid-December. While the pace of administration has picked up to more than 1 million a day on average, constrained supply has hindered states’ ability to operate mass vaccination sites.

The FDA declined to comment, deferring questions to the company. The move from Moderna comes after Pfizer sought and obtained a change from the FDA in its emergency use authorization to specify its COVID-19 vaccine vials contain six doses, rather than five, after pharmacists observed a bonus dose could be extracted with the right syringes. Moderna’s vials were also found to contain a bonus dose, but it’s seeking a regulatory change to add more volume to the vials.

If you are experiencing difficulty obtaining the vaccine for your community, please contact your pharmacy provider for assistance. The mission is clear; get as many people vaccinated as possible to slow this pandemic down!

Stay the course, stay well, mask up, get vaccinated, and stay tuned!