The Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday that it expects to give full approval of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine by Labor Day.
Pfizer, which has been under emergency authorization amid the COVID-19 pandemic, applied for full approval back in May. The Moderna vaccine has also been under emergency authorization.
"Our ongoing review of the biologics license application for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is moving forward as rapidly as possible in keeping with the high-quality complete assessment that the public expects from the FDA," an FDA spokesperson said in a statement to The Hill.
The FDA's decision to speed up its approval process comes amid the Biden administration ramping up efforts to get Americans vaccinated after a surge of COVID infections due to the highly contagious delta variant, The New York Times reported.
Biden said last week that he expected the vaccine to receive full approval by "early fall."
Several people who are vaccine hesitant have pointed out the lack of full FDA approval was among their reasoning for holding out on receiving their jab.
However, full approval could potentially mean increased efforts from the federal government to mandate the vaccine.
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The Pentagon previously said they would consider mandatory vaccinations for U.S. troops after the vaccine is fully approved by the FDA.
New York City will soon require vaccinations for indoor dining, indoor fitness and indoor performances.
Moderna has yet to submit all necessary data for fully approve of its vaccine but applied for its approval in June. Johnson & Johnson is expected to seek approval later this year after receiving emergency authorization for its vaccine in February, two months after Pfizer and Moderna.
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