Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Biden Says 'Mountains' Of Clinical Data Reviewed, Urges 'Get Your Shot Now'
CNBC: 'Please Get Vaccinated Now,' Biden Urges After FDA Approves Pfizer Covid Shots
President Joe Biden on Monday once again urged more Americans to get vaccinated against Covid-19, saying the majority of deaths and hospitalizations in the U.S. due to the virus are among the unvaccinated. “Those who have been waiting for full approval should go get your shot now,” Biden said during a White House press briefing hours after the Food and Drug Administration granted full approval to Pfizer and BioNTech’s Covid vaccine for people 16 and up. (Lovelace Jr., 8/23)
President Joe Biden also spoke about businesses —
Axios: Biden Urges Public, Private Sectors To "Step Up" COVID Vaccine Mandates
President Biden on Monday called on public and private entities to "step up" coronavirus vaccine mandates hours after the Food and Drugs Administration granted full approval to the Pfizer vaccine. The U.S. has seen a recent boost in vaccinations, reaching six million shots in the last seven days, according to Biden. "This is critical progress, but we need to move faster," he said in a brief address. (Chen, 8/23)
USA Today: Biden Encourages Employers To Require Vaccines
President Joe Biden encouraged private companies to require vaccination, urging employers to "do what I did last month," in reference to his vaccination requirements for federal employees. "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 that. Require it," Biden said. Although companies like Google, Facebook, Tyson Foods and Netflix have announced that employees at their work sites will need to be vaccinated, many others have been waiting for official word from the FDA, likely to fend off lawsuits. (Ortiz, Yancey-Bragg and Miller, 8/23)
Politico: Biden Urges Employers To Require Covid Vaccination
President Joe Biden on Monday pressed businesses and public leaders to implement vaccine mandates after the federal government issued its first full approval of a Covid-19 vaccine. The Food and Drug Administration early Monday approved Pfizer’s two-dose vaccine for people 16 and older, a step beyond the emergency-use authorization under which the shot has been available since late 2020. (Owermohle, 8/23)
