"Pfizer’s vaccine, made with partner
BioNTech SE, must be administered within a five-day window after it leaves the main storage center, and six hours once out of a fridge, according to Israeli authorities, who say they are following Pfizer’s rules.
To cope with that short shelf life and help authorities reach less populated and isolated areas, Israel began splitting some of Pfizer’s 1,000-dose packages into smaller consignments of a few hundred each. The system, in which workers repackage the vials in workstations within massive freezers, was approved by Pfizer before being implemented, Mr. Edelstein said.
Israel also enacted a policy that allows vaccine centers facing soon-to-be wasted surplus to inoculate anyone who shows up. This has led to scenes around the country of citizens both young and middle-aged queuing up at vaccine centers, hoping to get an early shot."