A hot topic brought to you by SpecialtyRx, your partner in long-term care

FDA recommends Pfizer COVID vaccine for emergency use

It could be just days before long-term care facilities nationwide begin receiving the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. According to Pfizer’s data, their vaccine is 94% effective in adults over the age of 65 and 95% effective overall. The panel voted with a breakdown of seventeen members voting in favor, four against and one abstained. The committee comprises U.S. scientific and public health experts, who concluded that the benefits far outweigh the risks. Final authorization decision will be made by the FDA’s career officials in the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.

“I voted yes because we know this vaccine is highly effective for at least three months after you get your first dose,” committee member Paul Offit, M.D., told CNN. There were no uncommon, serious, or adverse events in the trials, he added. “I think we know enough now to say this [vaccine] appears to be our way out of this awful, awful mess.”

Long-term care facilities top the list

A Centers for Disease Prevention immunization advisory panel agreed that LTC residents and healthcare workers should be first in line to receive the vaccine once authorized. Individual states don’t have to follow the recommendation, however, most agree that the initial doses would go to long-term care facilities first.
 
 

Count on SpecialtyRx to meet all your vaccination needs