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Gov. Polis Calls On FDA To Allow Vaccine Pooling To Boost Vaccination Numbers

DENVER (CBS4) - Gov. Jared Polis is partnering with Oregon Gov. Kate Brown to call on the federal government to allow pooling of vaccines. The move is in an effort to raise the number of vaccinations happening across the U.S.

jared polis
(credit: State Of Colorado)

Vaccine pooling is a common practice that allows practitioners to take leftovers of vials and combine it with another vial of the same vaccine to produce a full dose.

"We believe we must take advantage of every opportunity to protect people from the virus as well as outpace the rapid growth of COVID-19 variants," Gov.s Polis and Brown said in a joint statement on Tuesday. "One such opportunity is the pooling of vaccine doses," said Governor Polis and Governor Brown in the letter.

GPs In England Start To Administer Covid-19 Vaccine
STRATFORD, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 15: Vials of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine are seen during a vaccination clinic at the Sir Ludwig Guttmann Health and Wellbeing Centre on December 15, 2020 in Stratford, England. After rolling out the vaccine to dozens of \"hub\" hospitals last week, the NHS is now enlisting several hundred primary care practices in its covid-19 vaccination campaign. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)

The governor's note that pooling vaccines would allow a 6th and possibly 7th dose out of each vial of the Pfizer vaccine, increasing the number of patients who get the vaccine.

You can read a copy of the letter here.

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