Listen to this article

US President Joe Biden called on US employers to require the Covid-19 vaccine for their employees. His statement came on the day that the Food and Drug Administration announced its full approval for Pfizer and BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine for Americans as young as 16. It marks the first Covid-19 vaccine to receive full FDA approval. The US health officials hope the new status will encourage more people to get the vaccine. On Monday, President Biden said, “If you’re a business leader, a nonprofit leader, a state or local leader who has been waiting for full FDA approval to require vaccinations, I call on you now to do it, require it. Do what I did last month, require your employees to get vaccinated or face strict requirements”.

The US federal government is requiring employees to get the shot or be tested regularly. Many companies are doing the same. The FDA approval could set into motion a new wave of vaccine requirements among employers and universities as cases and deaths rise to the highest levels in months. However, the FDA had initially authorized the Pfizer vaccine on an emergency use basis. President said, “So let me say this loudly and clearly: If you’re one of the millions of Americans who said that they will not get the shot until it has full and final approval of the FDA, it has now happened. The moment you’ve been waiting for is here”. He called the FDA’s approval the gold standard and emphasized that vaccines are free, safe, easy, effective, and convenient.

President Biden also stressed that the vast majority of hospitalizations and deaths are taking place among the unvaccinated. He said, “There is no time to waste”. Biden also warned against the Delta variant and insisting this is a pandemic of the unvaccinated. The vaccine has yet to be approved for emergency use in children younger than 12. So the President said the best way for children to remain safe at school is for kids to wear masks. The acting FDA Commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock said, “While millions of people have already safely received COVID-19 vaccines, we recognize that for some, the FDA approval of a vaccine may now instill additional confidence to get vaccinated. Today’s milestone puts us one step closer to altering the course of this pandemic in the US”.