A COVID-19 vaccine continues to move closer to approval. State Health Commissioner Dr. Kris Box said Wednesday that Pfizer has officially applied for an emergency use authorization from the FDA, and a meeting has been scheduled for early December to determine whether to issue it.
“Once that approval is issued, states have been told to be prepared to receive vaccine in as little as 48 hours,” Box said. “Moderna is also expected to seek its emergency use authorization soon.”
Box assured Hoosiers that the vaccines will not be approved for release until thorough safety reviews are completed at both the state and federal levels. She noted that both manufacturers are reporting possible side effects like fatigue, headache, and, in some cases, fever. “This is normal,” Box stressed. “It does not mean that the vaccine gave you COVID. This is the normal immune response in your body to getting a vaccine. Many people experience similar symptoms after getting a flu shot or a shingles vaccine. These are temporary effects and will wear off quickly, and the benefits of the vaccine will far outweigh these side effects.”
Box also said that, unlike other vaccines, they’ll require two doses within the recommended timeframe, in order to be effective. She said that while the vaccines will protect Hoosiers from contracting COVID-19, it’s not a “get out of jail free” card. “We can be very thankful that we do have vaccines that are showing this kind of efficacy and this kind of safety with no major complications,” she added. “We could, right now, be having a group of vaccines coming back showing that they really didn’t work – we had no idea – and that there are major complications or side effects with it. So I feel very blessed and very thankful that this year, we do have that light at the end of the tunnel, but we’ve got to get past this burden right now and these high number of cases that we have, and the only way we’re going to do that is if we start following these mitigation measures.”
That means Hoosiers will still need to wear masks, practice social distancing, and stay home if they’re sick for foreseeable future. Box said it will probably take many months to vaccinate a large portion of the population.
