Pfizer is looking for full approval of COVID-19 vaccine by Labor Day
As cases climb, the Biden Administration reaches its goal, a month late, of getting 70% of the country vaccinated.
Photo: Zoranm/Getty Images
Pfizer is expected to get full approval for its COVID-19 vaccine by Labor Day, according to The New York Times. The Food and Drug Administration has not verified the timeline.
Pfizer applied for full approval with the Food and Drug Administration on May 7. Moderna also applied for full approval June 1. Pfizer is also expected to submit an emergency use authorization application for a COVID-19 vaccine booster this month.
WHY THIS MATTERS
The FDA has an "all hands on deck" strategy to expedite full approval of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to The Washington Post. Pfizer's vaccine, along with that of Moderna and Johnson & Johnson, is being given under FDA emergency use authorization.
Full approval could increase the vaccination rate among individuals who have been hesitant to get a shot that has received only EUA authorization.
The number of people who have received at least one shot has climbed to 70%, according to CNBC.
THE LARGER TREND
Vaccination is seen as the best hope in preventing the spread of COVID-19. Those vaccinated who get the virus are less likely to be hospitalized than unvaccinated individuals.
Some hospitals, the federal government for federal employees and other organizations have mandated that employees be vaccinated.
President Joe Biden had the goal of vaccinating 70% of the population by July 4. That goal has now been reached, a month later, as cases climb, driven by the Delta variant.
Daily new cases have increased 64.1% over the previous week, as of July 30, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's COVID Data Tracker Weekly Review.
This is 480% higher than June 19, when the CDC reported the lowest number of new cases.
More than half, 57.2%, of the U.S. population had received at least one dose of the vaccine, and 49.4% of the population has been fully vaccinated, as of July 30, according to the CDC.
The CDC last week said that vaccinated individuals are getting infected with the highly transmissible Delta variant, and are able to spread the virus to others. It has recommended that all individuals, including those who are vaccinated, return to wearing masks indoors.
Twitter: @SusanJMorse
Email the writer: susan.morse@himssmedia.com
