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WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is set to deliver remarks on his administration’s Covid-19 response and vaccination efforts following the Food and Drug Administration’s decision to fully approve Pfizer and BioNTech‘s Covid-19 vaccine.
The FDA’s approval of the vaccine on Monday, the first in the U.S. to win the coveted designation, is slated to give even more businesses, schools and universities across the country greater confidence to adopt vaccine mandates.
The mRNA vaccine, which will be marketed as Comirnaty, was on the U.S. market under an Emergency Use Authorization that was granted by the FDA in December. Since then, more than 204 million of the Pfizer shots have been administered, according to data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Ahead of the president’s remarks, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said that the Defense Department was preparing updated guidance that requires all service members to receive the Pfizer vaccine.
“A timeline for vaccination completion will be provided in the coming days, the health of the force, our military and civilian employees, families and communities is a top priority,” Kirby said.
The president may also give an update on the emergency evacuations in Kabul of American citizens, U.S. Embassy staff, citizens of NATO countries, at-risk Afghan nationals as well as Afghan nationals who have qualified for special immigrant visas.
CNBC’s Berkely Lovelace contributed to this report from New York.
Source: CNBC