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Earlier this week, the Pfizer vaccine was given full FDA approval.  And you might soon start hearing it by its brand name, Comirnaty.

It was a big step in the right direction and might put to rest some of the final standing reservations people have about getting the vaccine.

No longer can someone say that the vaccine isn’t even approved yet.

How many times have we read someone post that they aren’t going to be a lab rat in a study for a drug that isn’t FDA approved?

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last six months with no internet, you’ve probably read that comment on every COVID-19 post on social media. It’s almost always there.

And although it’s untrue that anyone took an experimental vaccine, it’s clear now that the Pfizer vaccine has cleared all the red tape needed to be declared safe. Note that the FDA approval is for 16 and up right now. Pfizer has been given emergency use for 12 and over.

The Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccine could be given FDA approval next.

Hopefully, that means many more people are getting the vaccine now, since it has received full approval.

We know this is a controversial, political issue, but Chambers County is averaging 28 COVID-19 cases per day over the last two weeks. There are surely others walking around with a runny nose, sore throat or other symptoms that they are blaming on allergies but might be COVID.

People who have received the vaccine do not get as sick.

As of Thursday evening, Wellstar Health System (all Wellstar hospitals, not just Wellstar West Georgia Medical Center in LaGrange) were caring for 641 patients. Ninety-one percent of those hospitalized were unvaccinated.

We just don’t understand why people don’t see and understand those numbers. People who are vaccinated do not get as sick. Yes, you can still get the virus. Yes, you can still spread the virus. But you are much less likely to die or have your way of life severely impacted. You are much less likely to end up in a hospital bed for weeks on end with no taste or smell and no visitors. You are less likely to be on a ventilator. You are less likely to miss work or be away from your family.

Hopefully, FDA approval means more people will get vaccinated in Chambers County.

A lot of people were waiting for it, and now it’s happened.