FDA-approved Pfizer vaccine available on campus

The fully FDA-approved Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine became available at Utah Valley University last week, which UVU announced on Wednesday, Oct. 13. This vaccine is now available to students and their immediate family members for free at the UVU on-campus clinic, in addition to the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccines. 

The Pfizer vaccine was the first to gain full FDA approval on Aug. 23, 2021. FDA approval is expected to follow for the Moderna vaccine in the next few months, and in 2022 for the J&J vaccine, according to the email correspondence sent out by UVU. UVU also offers free booster shots to those who are considered immunocompromised according, based on the CDC guidelines. The introduction of the Pfizer vaccination is an additional resource following UVU’s vaccine mandate taking effect in spring 2022.

“While this and other vaccines have met the FDA’s rigorous, scientific standards for emergency use authorization, as the first FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccine,” said Janet Woodcock, acting FDA commissioner Janet Woodcock, M.D. “The public can be very confident that this vaccine meets the high standards for safety, effectiveness, and manufacturing quality the FDA requires of an approved product.” 

According to the CDC, COVID-19 vaccines are effective at protecting you from the virus, especially from death or severe illness inflicted by it. The CDC also states, “People can sometimes get COVID-19 after being fully vaccinated. However, this only happens in a small proportion of people, even with the Delta variant. When these infections occur among vaccinated people, they tend to be mild.” 

The CDC noted that the more people who become vaccinated in any given population, the more difficult it is for the disease to spread from person to person. This makes it difficult for the disease to spread even to those who are unvaccinated. More information on COVID-19 rates at UVU can be accessed here. 

“We appreciate the more than 70% of our students who have already become vaccinated,” said Robin Ebmeyer, director of Emergency Management and Safety at UVU.“Your diligence allows us to continue to hold in-person classes and enjoy the events and learning opportunities that make UVU an engaging, exciting, and welcoming place.” 

“I think that it’s super beneficial to have an FDA-approved option at school, because it can potentially allow more hesitant students to feel more comfortable and safe when deciding to get the vaccine,” said Roxy Kuhn, a pre-nursing sophomore at UVU.  “I think it will also help increase the rate of students getting the vaccine in our school, protecting more students from COVID-19.”