The formal approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine could be a key turning point in California’s pandemic response, opening the floodgates to even more mandates and — experts hope — a significant wave of vaccinations.
The state has already established an aggressive pandemic response, with a large number of agencies and institutions having instituted vaccination policies, including inoculation requirements for educators and healthcare workers.
But experts said Monday’s vaccine approval by the Food and Drug Administration could be a game changer that turbocharges the effort.
“This landmark full FDA approval … is a major certification of the efficacy and safety of the vaccine that should remove any doubt in people who are still vaccine-hesitant,” said Dr. Robert Kim-Farley, medical epidemiologist and infectious diseases expert at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health.
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