The Food and Drug Administration has given full approval to Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, making it the first coronavirus vaccine to clear that final regulatory hurdle.
The widely anticipated decision on Pfizer’s two-dose vaccine replaces emergency use authorization granted by the agency last December. Approval for the vaccine applies to adults 16 and over.
Full approval of the Pfizer vaccine is likely to clear the path for more employers, universities and the military to make it mandatory. The FDA also said the approval may help overcome some unvaccinated people’s hesitancy to get inoculated.
“While millions of people have already safely received COVID-19 vaccines, we recognize that for some, the FDA approval of a vaccine may now instill additional confidence to get vaccinated,” acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock said in a statement. “Today’s milestone puts us one step closer to altering the course of this pandemic in the U.S.”
According to a June survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation, 3 in 10 unvaccinated adults said they would be more likely to get their jabs once a vaccine receives full FDA approval.
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This article appears in Aug 11-24, 2021.