It’s the first COVID vaccine to be fully cleared in the United States since the race to combat the pandemic began last year. The FDA said the vaccine is still available for people between the ages of 12 and 15 under emergency use authorization.
Since the FDA granted Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine EUA last December, more than 200 million doses have been administered nationwide, according to the Associated Press.
Health officials are hoping the decision, announced Monday, will help boost public confidence in getting vaccinated.
“The FDA’s approval of this vaccine is a milestone as we continue to battle the COVID-19 pandemic. 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, M.D. “While millions of people have already safely received COVID-19 vaccines, we recognize that for some, the FDA approval of a vaccine may now instill public confidence to get vaccinated. Today’s milestone puts us one step closer to altering the course of this pandemic in the U.S.”
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Copyright 2021. WBAP/KLIF News. All Rights Reserved. Associated Press contributed to this report.