In an interview with ABC News’ Linsey Davis, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said she hopes unvaccinated Americans are spurred into action following Monday’s Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.
Walensky said the FDA is “the gold standard for the safety and effectiveness of these vaccines,” and the move was “powerful signal in the safety and effectiveness.”
“We have an extraordinary amount of data, and I’m really pleased that the FDA not just took their time and did the due diligence that needed to be done, but did it quickly and efficiently to bring this to the American people as soon as possible,” she said.
Walensky didn’t have a timetable for when the Moderna vaccine would get full approval since they haven’t submitted its data to the FDA yet.
She did say that the current expectation is that the Pfizer vaccine will be authorized for children ages 5 to 12 by November.
While Walensky said she prefers Americans voluntarily get their shots, she encouraged more vaccine mandates to spur people.
“We’ve already seen just today many come through so that people will recognize if they were on the fence and they just needed that extra push that these mandates will get them there,” she said.
