Switzerland-based MTD Group, leveraging its research hub located in Como (Italy), with its decades of experience in designing and producing needles and syringes, has made investments to take part in the global effort to supply products that will minimise vaccine waste, and help to accelerate the COVID-19 vaccination effort according to the above recommendations.

As a result, the company is ready to offer improved syringes (with and without needles, to guarantee flexibility of use) with a total dead space below 35 microlitres.

In delivering the COVID-19 global vaccination campaign, it is of paramount importance to be able to maximise the number of individuals that can benefit from the available vaccine vials.

In particular, the use of low dead space (LDS) syringes can enable HCPs to extract more doses than those originally foreseen for each vial.

As an example, Pfizer indicates how to extract six doses from a single vial of their COVID-19 vaccine, therefore minimising vaccine waste. Low dead space syringe and needle combination should have a dead-space of no more than 35 microlitres (0.035 mL).

Similarly, Moderna has recently received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for distributing two different vials, containing up to 11 and up to 15 doses of their COVID-19 vaccine, respectively. However, proper syringes with reduced dead space are needed to extract all the 11 (respectively 15) doses from each vial.