It is safe to say that a full approval of Pfizer’s and Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccines will probably boost the vaccination rates in the U.S. But will the Food and Drug Administration make a decision by the end of the year?
Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson got the emergency-use authorization from the FDA, which is a category of approval that’s less strict – but since we are in a state of crisis, they were granted and given to the population. An FDA decision is not actually required until the end of 2021, but people already started to ask one important question: will more people get the vaccine after it gets fully approved?
About 46% of the total population – that’s over 153 million people in the U.S have gotten the vaccine. But the U.S. immunization process got slower, and there are now many programs that aim to encourage people to get the shot – they offer free doughnuts, lottery tickers and extra vacation days or paid time off from work. Of course, there will probably be a boost if the vaccines are fully approved by the FDA.
What does approval mean?
This approval will allow the companies to advertise their vaccines and set their own prices. Many people wait for the vaccines to go through a more rigorous regulatory screening before getting them.
Liz Hamel, director of public opinion at the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation stated that “A third of people who are unvaccinated said that they’d be more likely to get the vaccine if … one of the vaccines received full approval from the FDA.”
A study has shown that 12% of unvaccinated people want to wait and see if the vaccines get approved. This wait-and-see group is made out of young adults and black adults, mostly.
Right now, we’re waiting to see what the FDA has to say about these vaccines.
