According to a survey conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation , a third of unvaccinated adults in the United States confessed that they would be more likely to be vaccinated if there were full approval of the antigen by the FDA. So this step taken by Pfizer could encourage the undecided to finally go for their vaccine.
“While millions of people have already received COVID-19 vaccines safely, we recognize that for some, FDA approval of a vaccine may now instill additional confidence to get vaccinated,” said Janet Woodcock, Acting Commissioner from the FDA to Reuters.
It is important to mention that, with this milestone, pharmaceutical companies can no longer request new emergency use authorizations from the FDA, as this option is only available while there are no fully approved options available. In commercial terms, this gives Pfizer an advantage over other competitors such as AstraZeneca, which, if it wanted its injection to be available in the United States, would have to wait for a longer approval process.
The vaccine had been licensed for emergency use since December and has already been received by more than 204 million people in the United States, according to data available Sunday. Full approval is for use by persons 16 years of age and older.
With information from The Verge and Reuters