The U.S. Federal Drug Administration (FDA) gave Pfizer’s COVID vaccine full approval Monday, which most healthcare professionals hope will help boost the coronavirus vaccination rate throughout the U.S.
Dr. Erik Hefti, Harrisburg University Executive Director of Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Dr. Nancy Mimm, Program Lead for HU’s Master’s in Nursing Program and Vice-Chair of the Faculty of the Whole, weighed in on what the FDA approval means going forward and more with CBS21, ABC27, and FOX43 news.
“I think it’s going to change some peoples’ minds, because now that it is fully approved and there are no questions that it went through the sound, scientific process,” said Dr. Mimm. “A lot of vaccine hesitancy is related to fear and I really encourage people to take a deep breath, they shouldn’t be hesitant to get the vaccine,” Dr. Mimm told CBS21.
Dr. Hefti said that clinical trials previously proved that the vaccine is safe. The FDA helps cement prior approval of the drug.
“The key difference here is when it received emergency authorization, the data that went into that approval, meaning the data that said this is a safe and effective vaccine was based on large clinical trials which is an incredible data source, what we have now with the full approval is really just a scaled-up version of what we already had,” Dr. Hefti said.
Full FDA approval also gives companies, universities, and local governments leeway in mandating vaccinations, he said.
“With full approval, there’s a lot more leeway they have in actually pursuing mandates if they think they are appropriate,” Dr. Hefti said.
The stories can be found below:
ABC27: UPMC infectious disease specialist and Harrisburg University director react to Pfizer’s FDA approval
CBS21: Will FDA approval of Pfizer vaccine change peoples’ minds about vaccinations
FOX43: Worried about COVID-19 booster shots: Experts say there’s no need to rush
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