The United States FDA gives full approval to Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine
The United States Food and Drug Administration gave full approval for the Pfizer vaccine to be used in the fight against COVID-19 on Aug. 23. More than 200 million Pfizer vaccine doses have already been administered in the U.S. under emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration. The approval of the Pfizer vaccine opens new doorways for federal use of the vaccine; The U.S. Pentagon has already announced that they will proceed with plans to have all members of the United States military vaccinated following the announcement of the vaccine’s approval.
Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul replaces former Governor Cuomo
Former New York governor Andrew Cuomo stepped down just over two weeks ago after allegations of sexual harassment came out against him, and announced he would be replaced by his Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul. Hochul is New York’s first female governor, and was officially sworn in after midnight on Aug. 23. Hochul has already announced the names of those who would fill the positions of her top aides and plans to keep on Cuomo’s employees for 45 days to allow her time to hold interviews, but has been firm on her plans to immediately terminate anyone in Cuomo’s staff who was found to have behaved inappropriately. Hochul has vowed to never have anyone call her workplace “toxic,” as they did her predecessor.
New York City mandates COVID-19 vaccinations for all teachers and staff
Officials for the New York City public school system announced on Aug. 23 that they would be requiring all teachers and employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19. In previous statements, the school officials stated that teachers along with other city employees would either have to get vaccinated or be tested on a weekly basis for the virus. However, this new policy is the first vaccination mandate for such a broad group of city officials. All New York City public school staff must have at least the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by Sept. 27, according to the mayor and city health and education departments.
