Even though health officials had hoped the opposite to be true, a federal government analysis suggests full FDA approval of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine had only a "modest and relatively short-lived" effect on vaccination rates, CNN reports. In other words, while there was a resulting uptick, full licensure was not the "silver bullet" to completely eliminate vaccine hesitancy.
"There weren't suddenly lines around the block," said Becca Siegel, a senior adviser to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. That's because for "truly undecided people, this is a complex decision. It's not one thing," Siegel explained.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Why Jannik Sinner's ban has divided the tennis worldIn the Spotlight The timing of the suspension handed down to the world's best male tennis player has been met with scepticism
-
Crossword: February 22, 2025The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
Sudoku hard: February 22, 2025The Week's daily hard sudoku puzzle
-
Ozempic can curb alcohol cravings, study findsSpeed read Weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy may also be helpful in limiting alcohol consumption
-
New form of H5N1 bird flu found in US dairy cowsSpeed Read This new form of bird flu is different from the version that spread through herds in the last year
-
Microplastics accumulating in human brains, study findsSpeed Read The amount of tiny plastic particles found in human brains increased dramatically from 2016 to 2024
-
FDA approves painkiller said to thwart addictionSpeed Read Suzetrigine, being sold as Journavx, is the first new pharmaceutical pain treatment approved by the FDA in 20 years
-
Study finds possible alternative abortion pillSpeed Read An emergency contraception (morning-after) pill called Ella could be an alternative to mifepristone for abortions
-
HMPV is spreading in China but there's no need to worryThe Explainer Respiratory illness is common in winter
-
Marty Makary: the medical contrarian who will lead the FDAIn the Spotlight What Johns Hopkins surgeon and commentator Marty Makary will bring to the FDA
-
California declares bird flu emergencySpeed Read The emergency came hours after the nation's first person with severe bird flu infection was hospitalized
