Rather than allow the full approval of the Pfizer Covid vaccine by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to simply persuade otherwise sceptical Americans that the jab is safe for use, businesses and universities are likely to use it as an excuse to introduce vaccine mandates, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci. The Chief Medical Advisor to Joe Biden says “you’re gonna see a lot more mandates because there will be institutions and organisations which previously were reluctant to require vaccinations, which will now feel much more empowered to do that”. MailOnline has the story.
In an interview on MSNBC’s Morning Joe on Tuesday, Dr. Anthony Fauci said he thinks approval will help push more Americans to get the Covid vaccine because it might reduce their fears about the safety of the shot.
But he added that businesses and schools may feel more comfortable requiring workers or students to get a jab that has full authorisation.
“You’re gonna see a lot more mandates [from a range of] institutions…
“That could be organisations, businesses, colleges, universities. We’re even seeing it with the military already.”
However, mandates are a contentious topic with many states outright banning laws that would require workers to be vaccinated. …
Fauci referenced a recent report from the Kaiser Family Foundation that found three in ten unvaccinated adults said they would be more likely to get vaccinated if one of the vaccines were fully approved.
“I think that’s gonna be an important group because if you talk about 30% of the unvaccinated, that’s a lot of people,” he told Morning Joe.
About 90 million Americans who are eligible to get the Covid vaccine have not yet done so, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. …
At a news conference on Monday morning, Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby confirmed that the full approval will lead to COVID-19 vaccines being mandated for the U.S. military.
“Now that the Pfizer vaccine has been approved, the Department is prepared to issue updated guidance requiring all service members to be vaccinated. A timeline for vaccinated completion will be provided in the coming days,” he said.
And Louisiana State University President William Tate announced two weeks ago that the school will mandate that students receive the vaccine following full FDA authorisation.
Worth reading in full.
Stop Press: President Joe Biden has called on U.S. companies to introduce Covid vaccine mandates, saying: “Require it. Do what I did last month. Require your employees to get vaccinated or face strict requirements.”
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