Mandates for vaccines begin rolling out after FDA gives Pfizer Shot full approval

Various institutions began rolling out COVID-19 vaccine warrants on Monday after the Food and Drug Administration gave its first full approval to the Pfizer-BioNTech shots, and more are expected to follow suit in the coming days.

While many governments, schools, and businesses have implemented vaccine requirements in recent weeks, others have said they will wait until the FDA grants a vaccine full approval – a step that goes further than the emergency use authorization which made it possible to start the distribution of vaccines. December.

Following FDA approval on Monday, President Joe Biden urged policymakers to put in place vaccine requirements.

“If you are a business, nonprofit, state, or local leader who is waiting for full FDA approval to require vaccinations, I now ask you to do so,” he said. he said at a press conference. “Demand it. “

The largest institution to take that step on Monday was the Pentagon, which had previously said it would start rolling out a vaccine requirement for all service members as soon as the FDA gives full approval for the shots or by mid-September though the approval still hadn’t come by then. The requirement will affect more than one million active service members.

“These efforts ensure the safety of our military and promote the readiness of our force, not to mention the health and safety of communities in the country in which we live,” Pentagon spokesman John said Monday. Kirby.

The Department of Education in New York City, the largest school district in the United States, also announced that it will now make a vaccine requirement for all public school teachers and other staff.

The State University of New York campuses are also moving forward with a vaccine mandate that gives students, faculty and staff at 64 SUNY schools 35 days to get both doses of the vaccine. The University of Minnesota and all of Louisiana’s public colleges and universities are also initiating vaccine requirements for students, they confirmed on Monday.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) has announced that all employees in the public and public school system will now either need to be vaccinated or have regular testing “at least” once or twice a week. Louisiana does the same with its officials.

The FDA announcement also triggered requirements for vaccines in the private sector. CVS Health now requires all staff in its company and many employees in its stores to be vaccinated, a decision that affects around 100,000 people. Chevron also became the first major U.S. oil producer to announce a mandate, which will be applied to certain employees. United Airlines said on Monday it was ramping up its month-long plans and demanding that all employees be fully immunized by September 27.