After the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) fully authorized the Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA vaccine, series-completing second doses increased substantially. However, first vaccine doses were actually administered at lower rates after the approval.
When the
However, some people were skeptical of the vaccine and the rapidity with which it was developed. A Kaiser Family Foundation
On August 23, 2021, the FDA
Using the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) COVID-19 Data Tracker, the investigators obtained daily US vaccination data. As a comparison, the investigators also examined vaccination trends in the United Kingdom. The analysis period began on July 25, 2021, 30 days prior to the full FDA approval of Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine, and ended on September 9, 2021, the day before the Biden Administration announced a vaccine mandate.
By analyzing daily dose-agnostic vaccinations, the investigators found that FDA approval was correlated with a cumulative increase of 3.51 million vaccinations, up by 36%. However, the full FDA approval of Pfizer-BioNTech was also associated with 16% fewer first-dose vaccinations, while series-completing vaccinations were up by 77% after the approval.
Though COVID-19 vaccinations did noticeably increase after the Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA vaccine received full FDA approval, this increase was primarily seen in series-completing second doses. The investigators postulated the approval may have actually decreased the number of first vaccine doses, when compared to expected rates without the approval.
The investigators noted that a large portion of the unvaccinated population indicated they did not trust the government, and thus FDA approval would not have swayed them to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. Another explanation of the results could be that the FDA approval reminded people who had received 1 vaccine dose that they were due for a second, and could feel confident in their decision to receive another dose.
