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Coronavirus: US issues full approval for Pfizer vaccine

Published: 08:13 24 Aug 2021 BST

Pfizer - Coronavirus: US issues full approval for Pfizer vaccine

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved the Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Inc jab as its first COVID-19 vaccine, which had been used so far under the emergency use authorisation.

President Joe Biden said it was a “key milestone” and encouraged people to get jabs.

READ: Britain orders more Pfizer Covid-19 jabs as booster programme nears

“If you’re one of the millions of Americans who’ve said that they will not get the shot until it has full and final approval of the FDA: it has now happened. The moment you’ve been waiting for is here. It is time for you to go get your vaccination. And get it today,” he said in Washington.

The approval is likely to trigger institutions, such as school and governmental bodies, to require vaccine certifications, The Guardian reported.

“Now that the Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) vaccine has been approved, the Department [of Defense] is prepared to issue updated guidance requiring all service members to be vaccinated,” a Pentagon spokesman said.

The US has administered over 200mln doses of the Pfizer jab, developed with BioNTech, since it started the rollout in December.

“While this and other vaccines have met the FDA’s rigorous, scientific standards for emergency use authorization, as the first FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccine, the public can be very confident that this vaccine meets the high standards for safety, effectiveness, and manufacturing quality the FDA requires of an approved product,” said acting FDA commissioner Janet Woodcock.

The country is now struggling with a rise in cases due to the Delta variant, which is mostly hitting people who haven’t been vaccinated. The total death toll since the start of the pandemic is 630,000, according to Johns Hopkins University.

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