Pfizer's 6-dose-per-vial OK boosts its supply numbers. The catch? Special syringes are required

When pharmacists discovered a sixth dose could be pulled from vials of Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine, rather than the original five, it looked like a solution to supply-constrained vaccine rollouts. But now that the FDA has approved that tactic, Pfizer's counting those extra doses toward its established orders, The New York Times reports—which means it won't help boost immediate supplies. In fact, it might actually cut them. Special syringes needed to extract that extra shot aren’t necessarily on hand, meaning states could wind up with fewer doses than expected, not more. Pfizer is reportedly working with the U.S. government to pair the right syringes with vaccine shipments—and count doses accordingly—but that's not official or certain.