“We hope we’re there … but there’s no guarantee because it’s up to us,” Fausi, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and chief medical adviser to the president, told Anderson Cooper of the CNN network.
Health experts are still unclear what proportion of the population should be vaccinated to achieve a level of protection that can maintain a return to normalcy, such as safely attending restaurants and theaters, Fauci said. So the best way to go is to vaccinate as many people as possible, he said.
On Monday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted full approval to the Pfizer / BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for people over 16 years of age.
But some experts are skeptical that vaccination rates will increase just for approval.
“I think there will be a modest increase, but look, we have a long way to go to fill that gap,” said Dr. Peter Hotez, vaccinologist and dean of the Baylor College of Medicine’s National School of Tropical Medicine. “I think having full approval will certainly convince some, but it’s just one of the twelve false discussion points that the disinformation campaign has posted. And I think a number of people will only return to one of the others.”
Several false claims about Covid-19 vaccines have posed a challenge to vaccinating more Americans, Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biological Evaluation and Research, said Monday. Some of them include false claims about infertility, microchips, and fatalities.
“Let me be clear: these claims are simply not true. Getting a Covid-19 vaccine can save your life,” Marks said.
What can really motivate people to get these life-saving vaccines, Hotez said, is whether the authorization paves the way for employers, businesses and schools to demand vaccines.
Governors and schools that require vaccines
Some government agencies and schools are already calling for mandatory vaccination.
“This morning’s announcement that the Federal Food and Drug Administration has fully approved Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccination removes any doubt about the science and effectiveness of COVID vaccines,” Cuomo said.
The state already requires vaccination of all eligible government and health employees.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy also announced a vaccination warrant Monday. All state employees, who include up to 12 preschools and public universities, must be fully vaccinated by Oct. 18 or undergo regular testing, Murphy said.
“Teachers and staff are expected to accredit their vaccination status as of Tuesday,” the letter said.
Fighting the Delta variant
One of the factors that has raised concerns about the spread of Covid-19 is the more transmissible Delta variant.
Pfizer is manufacturing a vaccine specifically targeted at the Delta variant, but Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said Monday that he does not believe it is necessary because the current vaccine is so effective.
“Right now we’re preparing a specialized vaccine for Delta,” Bourla told NBC. “I’m pretty sure we won’t need it.”
Officials have begun preparing for the administration of reinforcements to protect themselves from the variant in the fall and winter. But health experts say the measure is a precaution and not a sign that the vaccines already in use are ineffective.
“There is several real-world evidence that appears here that suggests that the vaccine is still effective against the Delta variant,” Marks said. “Data from Israel seems to suggest that over time, immunity to the vaccine tends to decline, and so we will follow that closely.”
Children still waiting
As health experts celebrate the first full approval of a Covid-19 vaccine, many are left with questions about how children will be protected.
Approval only extends to teens 16 years of age or older, so people ages 12 to 15 are still vaccinated under emergency use permits. And many parents have waited for vaccine protection for even younger children.
The FDA stressed Monday that approval does not mean the vaccine can be used “off-label” in children under 12, saying it “would not be appropriate.”
Off-label refers to an approved product that is used in a way or in a patient that has not necessarily been approved.
Vaccines for this age group are still ongoing and enough data could be available for Pfizer in mid-fall and a little later for Moderna, Fauci said.
The FDA will then examine the data and conduct a risk benefit analysis, Fauci said.
“It could be a couple of extra months, so we don’t know whether or not we will get the regulatory decision in late fall, early winter or it could even come next year,” Fauci said.
Fauci said the decision to authorize the vaccine for this age group “is fundamentally based on safety.”
“I don’t think there’s any doubt that this is effective in children at this younger age. I have no doubt about that,” Fauci said. “It will be a security issue.”
CNN’s Lauren Mascarenhas, Virginia Langmaid, Laura Ly, Taylor Romine, Jennifer Henderson, Kara Devlin and Jacqueline Howard contributed to this report.