Pfizer’s COVID-19 Vaccine Approval Q&A: Mandates? Delta? Kids?

WASHINGTON – A big move in the battle against COVID-19. Pfizer’s vaccine now has the FDA’s official stamp of approval for people 16-years and older.

But the work on vaccines continues, Pfizer is making a vaccine specifically for the delta variant just in case it’s needed and says the current vaccine is very effective against the variant.

Safety and efficacy data are still coming in on vaccines for kids 11 and younger.

Once the FDA gets that data, it will either make the vaccine available under emergency use authorization, or wait a little longer for full approval.

In the meantime, this approval paves the way for vaccine mandates, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci, the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

“They’re going to give a lot of incentive and backing for a lot of institutions and organizations and places of employment to mandate,” Fauci said.

The Pfizer vaccine for people 16 and up will be marketed as Comirnaty.