FDA Reportedly Plans to Give Full Approval to Pfizer Vaccine Next Week

KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP via Getty Images)

Full FDA approval of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine is reportedly coming within days.

The New York Times reported Friday that the Food and Drug Administration “is pushing to approve Pfizer-BioNTech’s two-dose Covid-19 vaccine on Monday.”

Regulators were working to finish the process by Friday but were still working through a substantial amount of paperwork and negotiation with the company. The people familiar with the planning, who were not authorized to speak publicly about it, cautioned that the approval might slide beyond Monday if some components of the review need more time.

The three vaccines being used to protect millions of people across the United States are currently under Emergency Use Authorizations the FDA issued months ago after determining their safety and effectiveness. The Pfizer BioNTech vaccine EUA was approved last December.

The Times report notes that many public officials hope full authorization will “draw interest from some Americans who have been hesitant to take one that was only authorized for emergency use.”

As of this posting, the Centers for Disease Control reports that 51.2 percent of all Americans are fully vaccinated, and 60.4 percent have at least one dose. Over 90 percent of all U.S. seniors are at least partially vaccinated.

This week the Biden administration announced that Covid-19 booster shots will be made available to Americans starting in September, for people to get eight months after their last shot.