Why it would be a huge mistake for the FDA to wait longer for full approval of a COVID-19 vaccine

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Pfizer-BioNTech Vaccine. FREDERIC J. BROWN / AFP via Getty Images

Zainab Tufeki, a sociologist who has written extensively about COVID-19 throughout the pandemic, is a supporter of expanding vaccine mandates in the United States, citing precedent in the health care sector, the military and schools.

In Kentucky, I noted in an article published Saturday in the New York Times, that anyone working in a long-term care facility is vaccinated against influenza and pneumococcal disease unless they have a medical or religious exemption (Dr. Ashish Jha of Brown University, another prominent voice during pandemic, he also cited influenza vaccine mandates in nursing homes as a reason to apply them to the coronavirus). But Tofficki acknowledged that the fact that the Food and Drug Administration has not yet given full authorization for the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines presents an obstacle to enforcing such requirements.

Both Pfizer and Moderna, which were given emergency use late last year, have submitted their applications for full approval, and it appears the former is set to receive the go-ahead no later than January 2022. Tofficki hopes, for example, that the seal will come more Much more quickly than that. “It would be a huge mistake for the agency to take another six months,” she wrote to The Times, explaining that the extra waiting time “has allowed some anti-vaccinators to claim that the vaccines are experimental.”

Additionally, she argues, the disruption “helps fuel misperceptions” about harmful side effects. The consensus among medical experts is that allergic reactions will occur soon after vaccination, while other immune reactions may theoretically take longer, but are more likely to persist “within the first few weeks and months after vaccination.” Therefore, waiting for some may indicate that The risks of such problems are higher than they are now. At this point, Tofficki believes regulators have the six months of data they need and should move quickly toward approval with the goal of increasing the vaccination rate in the United States again. Read Toveki’s full article in The New York Times.

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