PLAINS, Pa. — Jill Florio, a pharmacist at Sheehan's Pharmacy in Plains Township, says once the news came out that the FDA put its official stamp of approval on the Pfizer vaccine, the phone calls started coming again.
She said some customers were holding out on getting the shot until this exact moment arrived.
"I think the FDA official approval gave people the confidence to trust the vaccine more and more interest in getting it."
The FDA only requires two months of safety monitoring before granting a drug emergency-use authorization.
To get full approval, a group of about 12,000 people who got the Pfizer shot were monitored for at least 6 months.
The shot's effectiveness was measured in about 20,000 people.
"They did have the data for quite some time now; Pfizer's been out for the longest, of course. And so many millions and millions of shots have been given, so I think they have a lot of evidence that it's safe and effective," said Florio.
Carol Sharaba already got her two shots but says she feels even more comfortable now about its safety and hopes others do too.
"I think it's a wonderful thing that they do that because the numbers are going up, and we don't want that. We don't want this virus back. It's bad."
Florio thinks appointments are definitely going to start picking up even more in the days and weeks ahead, both because of the spread of the delta variant and now the FDA approval.
"Now's really the time, you know, before winter comes, before the flu comes, the common cold, all of that."
The FDA approval is only for people 16 years and older. Children between the ages of 12 and 15 can still get the Pfizer vaccine under the emergency-use authorization.
The approval also does not cover the booster shot; the FDA will continue looking into whether or not that's necessary for otherwise healthy people.