Will FDA’s approval of Pfizer vaccine change skeptics’ minds?

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Pfizer’s vaccine now has full FDA approval. Will it make a difference for people still trying to make up their mind about the shot?

”Those who have been waiting for full approval should go and get your shot now. The vaccination is free, its safe and its effective,” said President Joe Biden.

Health officials and leaders have been encouraging people to get the vaccine for months now. A common response was that people were waiting for the vaccine to be fully approved. Now it is.

So are more people interested in getting the vaccine now? We posted a poll on Facebook on Monday to get your opinions.

More than 400 people commented on our post. In those 400-plus comments, one person commented “Yes.” For most people, it’s gonna take a lot more than this to change their mind.

“It’d have to be, you’re taking my kids away from me, or death sentence, that’s the only way I would consider taking it at this point,” said Cody Hammond.

If you couldn’t tell, Cody Hammond does not want the shot.

Even though the FDA fully approved Pfizer’s COVID vaccine he still does not trust it.

“I think it’s too new to know all the effects of it, I’m not putting something in my body that I don’t know what it’s gonna cause down the road,” he said.

“The safety data on it is almost unparalleled, how safe this vaccine is relative to other vaccines that Americans get,” said Dr. Joshua Wyche of Augusta University Health.

Wyche says vaccines typically show their adverse effects early on, within two or three months. And we are well outside of that window.

“That time frame is what we would expect to be able to see 99.9 percent of any adverse effects come out in that data,” he said.

Wyche believes this full approval could convince some to get the vaccine, but he thinks if you haven’t taken the shot yet this probably won’t change your mind.

“If they have dug their heels in, on that is their reason, no matter what the FDA did, the FDA was gonna be wrong,” he said.

And Hammond says he’ll never get the shot.

“I hate shots, I hate needles, I have tattoos but that’s the only kind of needle I’m gonna get,” said Hammond.

We also asked Wyche about vaccine mandates. He says we can expect more employers will mandate the vaccine now that it’s been fully approved.

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