Governors pin hopes on full vaccine approval as cases climb
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — As U.S. regulators weigh giving the final stamp of approval for certain COVID-19 vaccines, governors in states hard hit by the pandemic hope the move will help persuade the many holdouts in their states to finally get the shot.
The governors of Arkansas and Ohio — where cases and hospitalizations are climbing — have appealed publicly in recent days for full approval, saying it would help combat vaccine hesitancy and could also clear the way for more businesses to require their employees to be inoculated.
It's a topic that Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson has confronted as he holds town halls throughout Arkansas, which leads the nation in new cases per capita but has one of the lowest vaccination rates. Only about 35% of the state's population is fully vaccinated.
“Anytime you have low vaccination rates, you want to eliminate every objection that people have, and one of the objections that's been expressed is that this is only approved under emergency use authorization," said Hutchinson, who also recently took over as chairman of the National Governors Association.
All three vaccines authorized for use in the U.S. went through a fast-track approval process — but that didn’t skip the normal massive testing required of any vaccine. Pfizer and Moderna have applied for full approval, and a Pfizer decision is expected soon.
The Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines were studied in tens of thousands of people to show they prevented symptomatic coronavirus infections — especially serious illness —- and that they were safe. Once widespread use began, the Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention beefed up usual surveillance to catch any side effects too rare to have occurred in even those large...
