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US President Donald Trump turns to US Army Gen. Gustave F. Perna, who co-leads Operation Warp Speed \u00a9 Reuters \/ Kevin Lamarque<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n
RT.com<\/p>\n
The FDA has addressed \u2018vaccine hesitancy\u2019 concerns as a CDC panel unanimously recommended Pfizer jab for widespread use, and the US Army general in charge of distribution declared \u2018the beginning of the end\u2019 of Covid-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n
The head of the US Food and Drug Administration, Stephen Hahn, said that his agency is\u00a0\u201cvery concerned about vaccine hesitancy\u201d<\/em>\u00a0and thus always tried to be as\u00a0\u201copen and transparent\u201d<\/em>\u00a0as possible about the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine testing and emergency approval process.<\/p>\n We are also aware that some feel that the speed with which this development and regulatory process took place might give them concerns about the vaccine.<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n President Trump announced the FDA approval of Pfizer vaccine for emergency use on Friday night, amid allegations that his administration was twisting the agency\u2019s arms to expedite the process.<\/p>\n The head of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Peter Marks, tried to reassure Americans at a Saturday press conference that the fast-track was warranted and did not result in any safety sacrifices.<\/p>\n Our goal here is to make sure that people know that we are doing our jobs to make sure that we look out for possible adverse events, that they feel comfortable rolling up their sleeve and taking the vaccine.<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Despite the spike in reported hospitalizations and total Covid-19-attributed deaths nearing 300,000 across the US, large swathes of Americans, concerned about possible long-term health risks, remain reluctant to receive any of the first generation coronavirus inoculations, recent polling showed. While 47 percent of respondents said they planned to get the shot, some 53 percent of those surveyed were either not sure whether they would get vaccinated, or adamant that they would not.<\/p>\n The first batch of some 2.9 million shots this month will be aimed largely at frontline health care personnel and residents of nursing homes and care facilities. An FDA fact sheet noted that patients with severe allergies to vaccines should avoid the jab for now, as well as those with a history of anaphylaxis.<\/p>\n