BRAZOS COUNTY, Texas — The FDA has approved the first COVID-19 vaccine.
News of there being a vaccine FDA approved for the fight against COVID-19 is a huge breakthrough, as the world continues its battle with the virus.
Paula Horton just received her first Pfizer shot over the weekend.
"My husband and I both went and took it on Saturday and then to have it come up on Monday, as being the first approved, it was like 'yes', that is what we were supposed to do," Paula Horton, a Bryan resident shared.
Those in the health care industry say 'full approval' gives people even more certainty that the vaccine is safe and that it works.
"For what... 9 months... we have been using these vaccines under what's called Emergency Use Authorization," Dr. Jason McKnight, Clinical Assistant Professor of Primary Care and Population with Texas A&M University's College of Medicine said.
"These vaccines still had to meet certain safety measures and still had to prove that they were effective, but the full FDA review of the medication and the facility in which its made and the independent review and the data is not as robust as what it is for full FDA approval," Dr. McKnight added.
Adding extra confidence for those who were once on the fence like J'Anne Sartain.
"We saw the article on the way here this morning," said Sartain."We were super excited. We actually were pretty hardcore against the vaccine for a while and there were several things that happened that really made us feel a little more urgent about getting it done this past week."
So Friday, she and her husband both received their first Pfizer shot.
"I was shocked that it was approved. I didn't think it would happen that fast. It's very exciting that it's been approved," Sartain said.
"It made me feel comfortable knowing it was approved," her husband Lee, who also received the Pfizer shot, said.
Gaining the highest approval and easing these minds, more so than it just being administered under the emergency use authorization.
"There really has been no vaccine in history that has been studied for as long and in as many people as what any of the COVID vaccines had been studied for," said Dr. McKnight. "We already had really good certainty and good safety data on it, but the seal of approval really solidifies that now."
According to the CDC, over 200 million Pfizer doses have been administered in the United States.
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