Today, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) fully approved the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, which will now be marketed as Comirnaty, for the prevention of COVID-19 in those 16 years of age and older.

“The FDA’s approval of this vaccine is a milestone as we continue to battle the COVID-19 pandemic. While this and other vaccines have met the FDA’s rigorous, scientific standards for emergency use authorization, as the first FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccine, the public can be very confident that this vaccine meets the high standards for safety, effectiveness, and manufacturing quality the FDA requires of an approved product,” said Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock, M.D.

“The full approval of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine marks a landmark day for the ongoing mitigation of the disease,” said James Balda, Argentum president & CEO. “I am hopeful this decision will encourage the continued uptake of COVID-19 vaccinations not just in the general population, but also across the senior living industry, to protect those most vulnerable to the disease and its variants. We also hope it will further ease the process of providing additional doses of vaccine to those living and working in senior living communities all across the country.”

This vaccine has been available under Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for those 16 and older since December 11, 2020. Learn more.