The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday approved the fullness of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. Action can help increase public confidence in the vaccine as the country and the world fight the rapidly expanding Delta variant of the coronavirus.
FDA Acting Commissioner Janet Woodcock said in a statement: “… as the first FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccine, the public can be very confident that this vaccine meets the high standards of safety, efficacy and quality of manufacture that an FDA requires of an approved product. “
The vaccine, made by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech, was the first FDA-approved feature for emergency use last December. The FDA has also approved Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines for emergency use.
The FDA based its latest decision on a study of 40,000 volunteers aged 16 and over. He said “the vaccine was 91% effective in preventing COVID-19 disease.” The agency also noted that the shot “is effective in preventing COVID-19 and can be serious results including hospitalization and death ”.
Approval may lead to vaccine requirements
Full approval came as U.S. governments, schools and companies are considering vaccinating employees, students and others.
Last month, U.S. President Joe Biden announced that federal employees and those working with the federal government must prove vaccination or have regular tests.
Members of the U.S. military will have to be vaccinated against COVID-19 starting next month.
Also Monday, New York City announced it would require the vaccination of all teachers and public school workers in the country’s largest school system.
Dr. Carlos del Rio is at Emory University in the state of Georgia. He told The Associated Press, “I think a lot of companies have been waiting” for full FDA approval. He noted that requiring people to receive the shots “becomes much easier when you have full approval.”
A study by the AP-NORC Public Affairs Research Center published this week found that the majority of Americans, up to 59%, support the vaccine requirement for teachers and students.
Democrats and Republicans in the U.S. have differing views on immunization requirements in schools. Only 38% of those who identified as Republicans support a vaccine mandate for teachers. In comparison, 81% of self-identified Democrats support this requirement.
The Kaiser Family Foundation reported earlier this month that most unvaccinated adults in the country do not believe the vaccines are effective. Some even see the traits as a greater health risk than the actual disease.
FDA chief Woodcock noted, “While millions of people have already received COVID-19 vaccines safely, we recognize that for some, FDA approval of a vaccine can now inculcar additional confidence to get vaccinated “.
Reinforcement shots
The FDA said the vaccine is still available in emergencies for 12- to 15-year-olds.
The agency has also advised a third shot, known as reinforcement, for those with weakness issues. immune system. But the Biden administration announced last week that it plans to provide the third shot to all Americans.
Israel has one of the highest vaccination rates in the world using Pfizer-BioNTech shots. In early July, it became the first country to give coronavirus boosts to people with weakened immune systems. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett then announced that the country would offer reinforcements to all people over 60.
The Israeli Ministry of Health reported on Sunday that the third shot of Pfizer has greatly improved protection against infections and serious illnesses among Israelis aged 60 and over.
However, World Health Organization (WHO) health officials have called on richer, more vaccinated countries to delay the supply of reinforcements. They said it would be better to shoot more unvaccinated people in developing countries.
The head of the WHO, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Gebreyesus said: “We cannot accept countries that have already used most of the global supply of vaccines that use even more, while it is the largest in the world vulnerable people remain unprotected. “
I’m Jill Robbins.
Hai Do wrote this story for VOA Learning English with additional reports from the Associated Press. Ashley Thompson was the editor.
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Words in this story
variant – n. something that is somehow different from others of the same type
confident – adj. sure something is true
result – n. something that happens as a result of an activity
regular – adj. happening over and over again
mandate – n. an official order to do something.
inculcar – v. gradually provoke someone to have (a feeling, etc.)
immune system – n. the system that protects your body from disease and infection
global – adj. international, which involves the whole world
vulnerable – adj. easily injured or harmed