The Food and Drug Administration is expected to grant full approval of Pfizer Inc.’s Covid-19 vaccine next week. and its partner BioNTech SE, according to people who are familiar with planning, an action that could stimulate more vaccination requirements by employers and encourage more people who are hesitant to get vaccinated.
The two-dose shot was first removed in December by the agency for emergency use for people 16 and older. The emergency designation allows products to be distributed during public health crises based on the best available evidence.
Opponents of mandatory vaccinations have cited emergency approval as grounds for not requiring inoculations, so full approval is expected to lead more companies and institutions to require mandatory vaccinations.
Public health officials and vaccination experts also hope that full approval will affect some people who have hesitated to get vaccinated. About 60% of eligible people in the U.S. are fully vaccinated, according to federal figures.
Three out of ten unvaccinated adults said they would be more likely to get vaccinated if one of the vaccines currently authorized for emergency use received full FDA approval, according to a June survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation.