FDA approval for Pfizer vaccine is another reason to get COVID vaccine as delta surges

Among the many concerning headlines about COVID-19, there’s one glaringly bright spot of good news: the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has fully approved the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine for individuals 16 and older. Californians who were waiting for more information before taking their shots can now feel assured the vaccine has met rigorous federal standards for safety, efficacy and production quality.

In a May Kaiser Family Foundation survey, 31% of unvaccinated adults said they would be more likely to get a vaccine once it had full FDA approval. A national poll taken in August by the de Beaumont Foundation reported two-thirds (67%) of Americans, including 51% of unvaccinated parents, said full approval would make them more likely to get their children vaccinated.

A boost in confidence resulting from FDA approval couldn’t come soon enough.

We are now fighting a significantly more contagious variant of the virus — delta. This new, highly contagious variant is leading to higher rates of infections, hospitalizations and ICU admissions just as children are returning to school classrooms.

As scientists and public health officials continue working to understand the delta variant, what we know now is that delta is more than two times as contagious as previous variants. The more unvaccinated people in our communities, the more opportunity for the virus to spread and mutate to variants that are potentially even more dangerous.

Doctors report that younger patients are now being hospitalized. Epidemiology expert Dr. Carlos del Rio of Emory University has cautioned that the spread of COVID-19 among school children “is not happening in the schools, it’s happening in the house. The biggest risk a kid has is the parents are not vaccinated.”

With these new challenges, getting vaccinated is even more urgent. Vaccines remain the best way to avoid dying, or becoming so sick you need to go to the hospital. Among the 21 UC Davis hospital patients in the ICU last week, 18 were unvaccinated.

As public health leaders, women of color and moms, we are mindful of a devastating racial vaccination gap with fewer Californians from communities of color having received their vaccines. We attribute this to a number of interrelated factors, including a legacy of systemic racism; additional barriers working families face in accessing health care; uncertainty around the safety and efficacy of vaccines and a longstanding disinvestment in the local public health infrastructure needed to help families overcome these barriers.

We championed renewed state investment in vastly understaffed and under-resourced local public health departments this year. We appreciate Gov. Gavin Newsom and the legislature’s commitment to invest $300 million annually beginning next fiscal year to rebuild critical local health capacity and position local public health departments to deliver on equity. This commitment promises a healthier future.

Meanwhile, we can’t miss the opportunity before us now. We have no time to lose in delivering authorized vaccines to every eligible Californian.

Full FDA approval is another reason Californians should get vaccinated. We have so much confidence in the currently authorized vaccines that we eagerly took shots in our arms and will ensure that our own children are vaccinated against COVID-19 at the first opportunity. Join us in this life-saving mission. Visit your local public health department website or myturn.ca.gov to find a vaccine appointment.