A highly anticipated green iron.
The United States on Monday fully approved the Pfizer / BioNTech alliance vaccine for people 16 and older, the U.S. regulator said, a move that should help bolster vaccination efforts in the country.
The US Medicines Agency, the FDA, "has approved the first vaccine against Covid-19" in the country, she said in a statement.
Emergency authorization still for 12-15 year olds
Pfizer's vaccine had been granted emergency authorization since December.
It continues to be available to children and adolescents aged 12 to 15 under this conditional authorization, the FDA said.
“Even though millions of people have already been safely vaccinated against Covid-19, we recognize that for some, this authorization may give more confidence in the vaccination,” said acting chief of the FDA, Janet Woodcock, cited in the press release.
"Today's important step brings us a little closer to reversing the course of the pandemic in the United States," she added.
Convince or impose
This complete authorization could not only convince some hesitant, but it could also allow certain authorities to impose vaccination without fear of legal recourse.
The Pentagon had notably announced that all members of the American armed forces should be vaccinated once full authorization was announced.
"We have evaluated the scientific data and information included in hundreds of pages" and "conducted our own analysis of the safety and efficacy" of the vaccine, detailed Peter Marks, chief scientist at the FDA.
He said the vaccine production process had also been verified, including through factory visits.
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Covid 19
United States
Vaccination
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Anti-covid vaccine