The FDA granted full approval of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine Aug. 23 for use in people ages 16 and older. In the weeks before the announcement, vaccination rates in the U.S. had stagnated.
Based on the influx in first-dose vaccinations occurring since the announcement, the approval appears to have swayed some vaccine-hesitant Americans who were unsure about COVID-19 vaccines’ safety and efficacy. It also caused more employers and businesses to impose vaccine requirements, which has contributed to the increase in vaccinations.
An average of 404,000 Americans were receiving first-dose vaccinations per day in the week before the FDA granted full approval of Pfizer’s vaccine. As of Aug. 30, that number had risen to about 473,000.
“As expected, full approval was enough to convince at least some to finally get immunized,” John Brownstein, PhD, an epidemiologist and chief innovation officer at Boston Children’s Hospital, told ABC News. “While surveys initially had estimated a far greater segment of the population who pegged full approval as their reason for holding off, we have yet to see a large wave of newly convinced people to roll up their sleeves.”
Moderna completed its application for its COVID-19 vaccine’s full FDA approval on Aug. 25, according to CNN.
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