F.D.A. APPROVES PFIZER’S COVID-19 VACCINE
By: CaraG @exclusivelycarag
The FDA clears Pfizer Vaccine for emergency use on Friday, Dec 11, and shipped millions of doses across the nation. COVID-19 has taken more than 290,000 lives in the United States alone. The U.S. is the sixth country to receive the vaccine, which could be a significant turning point for the pandemic.
Pfizer has a deal with the U.S. government to supply 100 million doses of the vaccine by next March and free to the public. Every state has submitted a list of locations to the federal
government, mainly hospitals where the Pfizer vaccine shipped. Due to the large number of doses, researchers and lab technicians have been scouring the nation to find laboratory freezers to store the vaccine at around -90 degrees Fahrenheit adequately.
Many people have been critiquing the production rate of the vaccine. Vaccines typically take years to make, but Pfizer managed to create the vaccine in 11 months. It was reported that people who received Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine experienced an allergic reaction to the vaccine. Many medical centers are preparing for any reactions by having patients who get the vaccine wait for a period of time after receiving the shot. This will ensure patients get the proper treatment right away if they do happen to have a reaction.
“We will learn a lot more as we follow the use of this vaccine very carefully,” Amanda Cohn, an official with the CDC’s Covid-19 vaccine planning unit said, “We know that these vaccines have the potential to end this pandemic and we know that it is critical for health care providers to have confidence that these vaccines are very safe.”
