‘Wave’ Of Mandates Coming Once FDA Fully Approves Vaccine, Fauci Says
"I hope that it will be within the next few weeks," Dr. Anthony Fauci says of an expected Food and Drug Administration decision to grant full approval to Pfizer's covid shot. When it comes, Fauci expects many businesses and schools will quickly require vaccinations.
AP:
Fauci Hopeful COVID Vaccines Get Full OK By FDA Within Weeks
The U.S. government’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said Sunday that he was hopeful the Food and Drug Administration will give full approval to the coronavirus vaccine by month’s end and predicted the potential move will spur a wave of vaccine mandates in the private sector as well as schools and universities. The FDA has only granted emergency-use approval of the Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, but the agency is expected to soon give full approval to Pfizer. (Madhani, 8/8)
USA Today:
Dr. Anthony Fauci: Expect 'A Flood' Of COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates After Full FDA Approval
As soon as the Food and Drug Administration issues a full approval for a COVID-19 vaccine, there will be "a flood" of vaccine mandates at businesses and schools across the nation, Dr. Anthony Fauci told USA TODAY's Editorial Board on Friday. Mandates aren't going to happen at the federal level, but vaccine approval will embolden many groups, he predicted. "Organizations, enterprises, universities, colleges that have been reluctant to mandate at the local level will feel much more confident," he said. (Weise, 8/6)
Bloomberg:
Fauci Backs Vaccination Mandates For Businesses, Universities
Businesses and colleges should consider requiring people to get vaccinated against Covid-19 in light of the surge of U.S. cases driven by the delta variant, Anthony Fauci said Friday. The chief medical adviser to U.S. President Joe Biden said he opposed a federal vaccine mandate but that the velocity of Covid’s spread should spur private organizations to think about requiring shots. “I would encourage private enterprises to seriously consider the idea of mandating vaccination in the enterprise for which they are responsible, whether that’s a university or a place of business,” Fauci said in an interview with Bloomberg Quicktake. (Tozzi and Mills, 8/6)
WTSP:
What Does Full FDA Approval Mean For The Pfizer COVID Vaccine?
That full approval, which means the vaccines would have an indefinite green-light, could lead to more businesses requiring vaccinations nationwide. Some organizations have appeared to be waiting for clearance beyond the "emergency" authorization given previously. “It's a full licensure that means they can market it. I think there have been conflicting legal theories about whether you can mandate a vaccine that's under emergency use authorization, but full licensure kind of will take away that question. We have mandated vaccines for our school aged children for decades, right. So now we get to a point where it's like, well, it's a fully approved, biological licensing," explained Dr. Michael Teng with USF Public Health. (Titus and Powell, 8/6)
Dr. Fauci also pushed for more covid testing —
Politico:
Fauci Urges More Testing To Track Breakthrough Covid Cases
Anthony Fauci urged on Sunday that more coronavirus testing be done among vaccinated people to learn more about breakthrough cases. “We know now from experience here and other countries that you will have people who are asymptomatic who get into contact with an asymptomatic person who is infected, and you’ll know there will be more infections that otherwise would have gone undetected,” the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said on NBC’s "Meet the Press." “We need to do more testing.” (Greene, 8/8)
Also —
Politico:
NIH Director: Vaccines Should Never Be Political
The director of the National Institutes of Health on Sunday lamented that the notion of vaccination remains so politicized amid the nation's ongoing surge of Covid cases. Speaking on ABC's "This Week With George Stephanopoulos," NIH Director Francis Collins said, "How did we get here? Why is it a mandate about a vaccine or wearing a mask becomes a statement of your political party? We never should have let that happen. Come on, America, we can separate these. We're incredibly politicized about politics. We don't need to be polarized about a virus that's killing people." (Cohen, 8/8)
