When the COVID-19 pandemic started in early 2020, the race to an effective vaccine was on the minds of researchers and public health officials around the world. Since then, COVID-19 vaccines have reached consumers in record time (McKeever, 2021). The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine became the “first mRNA vaccine in history allowed for human use” when it was approved in the United Kingdom on December 2, 2020 (Debusmann Jr., 2021). The FDA granted the drug emergency use authorization only 9 days later, and fully approved it on August 23, 2021 (McKeever, 2021). On December 18, 2020, the FDA also granted emergency use authorization to Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine, which became the second one available in the U.S. Johnson & Johnson’s single-shot vaccine was approved for emergency use in February of this year. All three, along with COVID-19 vaccines developed by AstraZeneca-Oxford, Sinopharm, Sinovac, and Bharat Biotech have been approved by the World Health Organization (WHO).

            The flood of approvals and authorizations means that “the biggest vaccination campaign in history” is now underway (Bloomberg). In the U.S. alone, more than 434 million doses have been administered as of early November (CDC). And according to data collected by Bloomberg, more than 7.35 billion doses have been administered across 184 countries. The major concerns that now surround the global vaccination effort include both ensuring equitable access to available vaccines and increasing vaccine uptake and efficacy where possible. The World Health Organization aims to deliver two billion doses of the vaccine by the end of 2021, leading an initiative through the COVAX Facility to ensure equitable access for all countries (WHO, 2021). And when it comes to vaccine uptake and efficacy, the current discourse concerns the vaccination of younger age groups and the authorization of booster shots for certain subgroups of the population. The Pfizer vaccine received authorization for emergency use in children and adolescents ages five to 15; in the U.K., it’s available to adolescents aged 12 to 15 (McKeever, 2021). In late September, U.S. regulators also granted emergency use authorization for a third dose of Pfizer (a booster shot) for older people, individuals with underlying conditions that increase their risk of disease, and people whose jobs put them at high risk of infection (like schoolteachers and health-care workers) (LaFraniere, 2021). Booster shots are also available to all people 18 and older who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine at least two months ago.

            Prior to the wider release of approved COVID-19 vaccines in the U.S. and other countries, healthcare workers, the elderly, and the immunocompromised were prioritized in the lineup for the shot. Schools remained closed and many corporate jobs continued to be done remotely. But as booster shots are taken up and more individuals are becoming fully vaccinated, public health officials are hopeful they can subdue future waves of COVID-19 and its variants.

References

Bloomberg. (2021, November 10). More than 7.35 billion shots given: COVID-19 tracker. Bloomberg News. https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/covid-vaccine-tracker-global-distribution/.

Centers for Disease Control (CDC). COVID Data Tracker, Updated Daily. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#datatracker-home.

Debusmann Jr. B. (2021, August 23). Pfizer becomes first Covid vaccine to gain full FDA approval. BBC. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-58309254.

LaFraniere S. (2021, November 9). Pfizer asks F.D.A. to expand booster eligibility to all adults. New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/09/health/pfizer-booster-eligibility-adults.html.

McKeever A. (2021, October 29). Here’s the latest on COVID-19 vaccines. National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/coronavirus-vaccine-tracker-how-they-work-latest-developments-cvd.

World Health Organization. (2021, May 27). COVAX Joint Statement: Call to action to equip COVAX to deliver 2 billion doses in 2021. WHO. https://www.who.int/news/item/27-05-2021-covax-joint-statement-call-to-action-to-equip-covax-to-deliver-2-billion-doses-in-2021.