FDA Approves Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine ⇥ fda.gov

From the FDA:

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine has been known as the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine, and will now be marketed as Comirnaty (koe-mir’-na-tee), for the prevention of COVID-19 disease in individuals 16 years of age and older. The vaccine also continues to be available under emergency use authorization (EUA), including for individuals 12 through 15 years of age and for the administration of a third dose in certain immunocompromised individuals.

Fantastic news, and something that may sway a handful of people worried about receiving this vaccine and will pave the way for mandates. But I doubt that this will move the needle for the truly anti-vaccine crowd, and I am bemused that some media outlets are surprised that the goalposts have been moved.

One of the theories that has gained favour among some anti-vaccine people is that Bill Gates was involved in COVID vaccines in order to upload every individual’s conscience to the cloud so that bankers can control your transactions. This is not an exaggeration or a misrepresentation. Though not all those who are anti-vaccine believe everything this extreme, it is a mainstream view among a non-mainstream group of people. Anyone who thinks that FDA approval will change minds set in these kinds of beliefs is only kidding themselves.

Anyone who can get vaccinated must do so, and as quickly as possible. If you can, do your best to convince the unconvinced. But there are some who simply will not accept that COVID-19 is real, and that widespread vaccination is good public health policy. I cannot imagine how difficult it would be to reorientate someone’s entire perception of the world back to reality.