FDA announces full approval of first COVID-19 vaccine

This week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration formally approved the first COVID-19 vaccine, manufactured by Pfizer-BioNTech (commercial name Comirnaty) for the prevention of COVID-19 in individuals aged 16 years and older based on extensive safety and effectiveness data. Hundreds of millions of individuals worldwide have received the vaccine under Emergency Use Authorization (EUA), which is still in effect for individuals ages 12-15 years of age.

AGA urges all health care workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19 to ensure the safety of our workforce and reduce the risk of transmission to our patients.  We support a joint statement signed by 58 societies and one from the American Hospital Association endorsing COVID-19 vaccine mandates for all workers in health care and long-term care, underscoring that vaccination against COVID-19 is the most effective strategy to mitigate the pandemic.

The highly contagious Delta variant has led to increased numbers of COVID-19 cases and serves as reminder that we all must remain vigilant and reduce any chance of potential infection and transmission through vaccinations and through physical distancing and masks.

“AGA supports the call for all health care and long-term care employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to do everything possible to ensure the safety and health of our patients and workforce,” said John Inadomi, MD, AGAF, AGA Institute President

Please join AGA in its effort to tackle this pandemic and visit our website to review the suite of rapid guidelines related to COVID-19.

References
¹ Emanuel EJ, SKorton DJ, Mandating COVID-19 Vaccination for Health Care Workers. Annals of Internal Medicine 2021. July 30. https://doi.org/10.7326/M21-3150

² American Medical Association. AMA in support of COVID-19 vaccine mandates for health care workers. https://www.ama-assn.org/press-center/press-releases/ama-support-covid-19-vaccine-mandates-health-care-workers 

³ American Hospital Association. AHA Policy Statement on Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination of Health Care Personnel. July 21, 2021. https://www.aha.org/public-comments/2021-07-21-aha-policy-statement-mandatory-covid-19-vaccination-health-care