Biden Announces First FDA-Approved COVID-19 Vaccine

AUSTIN, Texas — President Biden has announced that the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine has received full authorization for use by individuals 16 years and older. This means that Pfizer-BioNTech is the first of the vaccines to go through the rigorous scientific process to receive the FDA gold standard approval.

All three current vaccines — Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson and Johnson’s Janssen — were approved earlier this year through the FDA’s emergency use authorization for persons 16 years and older. The Pfizer vaccine was also approved under emergency use authorization for children ages 12-15.

While all vaccines have met rigorous standards to guarantee public safety, the announcement of full approval by the FDA is great news for many Americans who still have not been vaccinated against COVID-19.

Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa issued the following statement:

“President Biden has made defeating the COVID-19 pandemic his number one priority — and to make it happen, he has led our country through the most successful, aggressive vaccination campaign in history. Through President Biden’s leadership, we have a solution that is free and convenient for every person in America.

“Within the United States, 362 million doses have already been administered. Unfortunately, Greg Abbott has not done enough to tackle this pandemic in Texas, a state with less than half of its population vaccinated and where COVID is surging due to the much more transmissible Delta variant infecting unvaccinated persons.

“This is now a pandemic of the unvaccinated. We hope that this good news will further encourage all Americans to get vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to protect themselves and their loved ones.”