AACOM Applauds FDA Approval of COVID Vaccine; Urges Everyone to Receive Vaccinations

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Bethesda, MD)- Following the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) decision to grant full approval to the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, Robert Cain, DO, President and CEO of the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM), issued the following statement:

“Today, we applaud the scientists and clinicians at the FDA for their comprehensive review and testing of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine.  By granting full approval, the FDA is once again reaffirming the safety and efficacy of the vaccine.  This is far and away the most effective tool we have to help contain the virus and to prevent serious and life-threatening illness.

From the beginning, the battle against COVID-19 has challenged and stressed every facet of the healthcare community across the globe.  But it has also shown how working together, we can rise to the challenges.  For more than a year, frontline healthcare workers have taken on overwhelming caseloads and routinely work 24-hour shifts. Medical researchers, scientists and many others worked overtime and across company lines to create and produce multiple lifesaving vaccines. And we have witnessed medical and other health professions students volunteer by the thousands to work at local clinics to help treat and vaccinate patients.

We hope today’s decision will spur those who were hesitant and waiting for full approval to get vaccinated as soon as possible. And we continue to urge everyone who is eligible to receive a vaccination to get one.  The fact is, people who are not vaccinated are at the highest risk of severe disease, hospitalization and death. Please do not hesitate or you risk your life and/or the lives of those around you.”

About AACOM

The American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM) leads and advocates for the full continuum of osteopathic medical education to improve the health of the public. Founded in 1898 to support and assist the nation's osteopathic medical schools, AACOM represents all 37 colleges of osteopathic medicine—educating nearly 34,000 future physicians, 25 percent of all US medical students—at 58 teaching locations in 33 US states, as well as osteopathic graduate medical education professionals and trainees at US medical centers, hospitals, clinics and health systems.

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Contacts:
Joseph Shapiro
Director of Media Relations
(240) 938-0746
jshapiro@aacom.org

Christine DeCarlo
Media and Public Affairs Manager
(202) 603-1026
cdecarlo@aacom.org