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FDA Approves First Covid-19 Vaccine

585 points| PaulAnunda | 4 years ago |fda.gov | reply

1000 comments

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[+] matt_s|4 years ago|reply
An interesting, short read is the difference between Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) and the full FDA approval[0].

Basically it is manufacturing, funding and red tape being the difference, nothing about safety or clinical trials differs.

In software terms, EUA is parallel tracked sprints for clinical trials and manufacturing at same time vs. regular approval is Waterfall where manufacturing occurs after approval.

[0] https://healthtalk.unchealthcare.org/whats-the-difference-be...

[+] colinmorelli|4 years ago|reply
This flow chart is not quite accurate, or at least is misleading. There is more to a distinction between EUA and full FDA approval than where manufacturing happens. The FDA's own website[0] says:

> The EUA process is different than an FDA approval or clearance. Under an EUA, in an emergency, the FDA makes a product available to the public based on the best available evidence, without waiting for all the evidence that would be needed for FDA approval or clearance.

I don't post this to spread doubt about the EUA and am fully confident in the safety and efficacy of these vaccines. But as written, this website would seem to suggest that the only difference is when production happens - which is not accurate.

[0] https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/understanding...

[+] ericcholis|4 years ago|reply
One of the anti-vaxx or vaxx hesitant arguments is that Pharma can't be sued for damages under EUA. I'm honestly not sure how true that is precisely.
[+] vlovich123|4 years ago|reply
Why isn’t the EUA process the default then? It sounds like manufacturing being after approval would just be a cost thing producers could figure out without needing the FDA involved…?

Edit: also why is there such a large lag between EUA and full FDA approval? That flow chart seems misleading.

[+] vvilliamperez|4 years ago|reply
Like someone else mentioned, I think the core issue is "Should the government have the right to mandate medical procedures?" In my mind, I'm vaccinated, so what does it matter to me if others are not?
[+] eddieroger|4 years ago|reply
I had to be vaccinated to enter first grade, and again in college. Since I went to a public school, doesn't that already kind of answer this question?
[+] barfingclouds|4 years ago|reply
Really? Because if others are the pandemic will end and mutations won’t happen and if you need to go to the hospital it won’t be over booked. And a myriad of other reasons.
[+] wingineer|4 years ago|reply
Does this have any effect on the exemption from liability for this drug or is that still in effect until 2024? I haven't seen any language on this.
[+] hartator|4 years ago|reply
Interesting that most comments focus on the social aspect of this instead of deciphering the science behind that approval.
[+] bart_spoon|4 years ago|reply
There isn't much of a difference between the science behind this approval and that of an EUA. Its largely red-tape and bureaucracy.
[+] nl|4 years ago|reply
The switch from experimental to full approval is mostly about repeatable and certified manufacturing and logistics. There is no new science in this approval.
[+] s1artibartfast|4 years ago|reply
The most interesting science is not public and probably never be. What, if any, internal debate was occurred at the FDA, their pre-approval questions for manufacturers, and their responses, ect.

Without this, all we really have to go on is the public information that was release a year ago.

[+] appleflaxen|4 years ago|reply
Any physician may prescribe any FDA-approved medication outside the scope of the label if it's indicated in their medical judgment.

That means that it may be prescribed to individuals <18 in some circumstances, and that it's legal to do so (explicit emergency authorization notwithstanding).

[+] xiphias2|4 years ago|reply
Can I now travel to the US and pay for one if I want as a non-US resident? So far that was impossible.
[+] throwawayboise|4 years ago|reply
Does this end the waiver of liability that was granted under the EUA?
[+] thepasswordis|4 years ago|reply
People don’t want to take the vaccine because others are trying to force them to.

They would say “it’s not FDA approved!” not as the core of their hesitancy, but because they were trying to be appeal to pro-vax peoples decision making framework.

I don’t think we should be able to require them to.

To many of you here: imagine the Trump admin trying to require you to take the vaccine in November of last year. Cities would have burned over it.

And honestly: I was one of the first to take it, but the desire to almost force me to take a booster, and the weird, Orwellian ways that the government talks about it, has turned me against the booster.

It ends up feeling less like the decisions are guided by science and more like they’re guided by petty tyrants wanting to control what others do.

Anybody who has ever lived under an HOA will recognize this.

[+] learc83|4 years ago|reply
Do you have any specific examples of this?: "weird, Orwellian ways that the government talks about it"

Public schools, colleges, and the military have been requiring vaccines for decades.

>It ends up feeling less like the decisions are guided by science and more like they’re guided by petty tyrants wanting to control what others do.

This sounds like a result of reading about what health care and government officials are saying instead of actually reading what they are saying.

[+] eddieroger|4 years ago|reply
>Anybody who has ever lived under an HOA will recognize this.

My HOA telling me to take Christmas decorations down in January doesn't really equate to the government trying to keep me and my community alive and out of the hospital. Don't like the HOA covenants? Move. Don't want the vaccine? Stay away from places that will now be allowed to require vaccination.

[+] 0xB31B1B|4 years ago|reply
we don't require anyone to take the vaccine, and we will never require anyone to take the vaccine. What we should and will do is restrict what someone who is not vaccinated can do to limit the harm they will cause to others. No one is going to bang down your door and force a vaccine into your arm, but if you do not want to get vaccinated you will need to change your life because you will be restricted from participating in many things where you are a danger to others.
[+] ibejoeb|4 years ago|reply
Now do Covaxin.

Seriously: what's the hold-up? Why is the US still blocking this vaccine?

[+] ceejayoz|4 years ago|reply
The US doesn't need it.

Other countries are entirely free to approve it for their citizens.

[+] giantg2|4 years ago|reply
Are they blocking it? I thought they don't have the production numbers to be able to export.
[+] yalogin|4 years ago|reply
The approval is specifically for 12 and over. Any word/guesses on when it would be available for the rest?
[+] bluGill|4 years ago|reply
It is 16 and over, not 12 and over.

Nobody knows when under 12 will get an EUA: they need more data before they can apply. Rumor is they will have the data soon and so the EUA will happen by the end of September. This is just a rumor: it seems likely, but could be wishful thinking.

[+] eli|4 years ago|reply
It's actually for 16 and over. No impact on the EUA for 12-16 year olds. I've heard "maybe september" for emergency approval for younger kids.
[+] rpowers|4 years ago|reply
With its approval, I'm going to ask my pediatrician to get them to approve use in our younger kid.
[+] xdennis|4 years ago|reply
How young are you trying to go? Should we individually vaccinate egg and sperm cells?
[+] teeray|4 years ago|reply
So does this mean Moderna and J&J can’t be administered now since there is an approved vaccine?
[+] jasongill|4 years ago|reply
They can continue to be administered under their EUA's; having Comirnaty receive full approval doesn't impact the other vaccines status.
[+] kristjansson|4 years ago|reply
All of these comments following the pattern "I'm vaccinated but [insert vaccine hesitancy content here]" sound quite a lot like the "I'm a democrat but [insert pro-trump content]" comments that abounded in the last cycle.

I don't know what to make of it. Is this a rhetorical strategy that really works? A tic of people experiencing cognitive dissonance?

[+] joefife|4 years ago|reply
A large number of those objecting to the vaccine have serious needle phobia and don't wish to admit this publicly.

The most common presentation is mild anxiety, but in more serious instances, a needle phobic person may pass out or be genuinely convinced they are having a cardiac arrest.

There are alternative delivery methods being tested, such as by Pharmajet.

I suspect that when needle phobia is addressed in a less hostile light, you may find an increase in uptake.

[+] the_doctah|4 years ago|reply
This is a legitimately preposterous take.
[+] rpowers|4 years ago|reply
Great. When can my younger kid get it?
[+] b0tzzzzzzman|4 years ago|reply
Hacker news is turning into Reddit style comments section.

Can we talk about natural immunity and the path forward?

[+] hall0ween|4 years ago|reply
Can you point to any papers demonstrating natural immunity? I ask as my virologist friend, working on covid-related projects, says to me that it hasn't been shown to be plausible. Which, intuitively, makes sense because of (1) the positive effects vaccines have on reducing severity of the disease and (2) the cycle of variants we see and its path forward.
[+] president|4 years ago|reply
Yes, the whole argument of vaccines, lockdowns, masks are moot when you consider that the default position should have always been - if you're scared of the virus, stay home. If the virus was that dangerous, we would not need a global marketing campaign to tell us to how to be safe. The last 2 years defies all logic and common sense.
[+] queuebert|4 years ago|reply
"Comirnaty"?

What does that even mean?

Do marketing people just play Flappy Bird all day?

[+] thehappypm|4 years ago|reply
Community + mRNA, if I'm remembering right. Marketing is a joke for these ones. Every government agency on earth is doing the marketing for them for free.
[+] TameAntelope|4 years ago|reply
I literally think so, yes.

Honestly, one of my life goals is to somehow tap into creating a plausibly excusable place for companies to dump their marketing dollars, I feel like that's one of the secrets to an easy life.

[+] umvi|4 years ago|reply
The real question is whether covid or all the in-fighting around politicization of covid is doing more harm to society. I almost think it's all the in-fighting and social discord.
[+] 2OEH8eoCRo0|4 years ago|reply
Do you hear that? It's the sound of millions of goalposts being moved.
[+] zabatuvajdka|4 years ago|reply
Whoever named it Comirnaty needs to stop taking Hydroxychloroquine.