Statements
Statement by FDP Chair Manny Diaz as FDA Grants Full Approval to Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine
On Monday August 23, the Food and Drug Administration granted full approval to the coronavirus vaccine produced by Pfizer-BioNTech for use by people aged 16 and older. Full approval means the vaccine meets the FDA’s highest standards for safety, effectiveness and manufacturing quality.
In reaction to this development, Florida Democratic Party Chair Manny Diaz issued the following statement:
“Now that the Food and Drug Administration has fully approved the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for people 16 or older, Governor DeSantis needs to put the same kind of energy and effort into promoting vaccination as he has poured into touting a treatment in which one of his top donors is heavily invested to the tune of millions of dollars.
“In fact, he needs to put about 40 times more effort into it, because that is the approximate difference in cost between a $25 vaccine and the $1,000 treatment he is so eagerly pushing. If he fails to do so, it will seriously call into question his motivations for promoting one approach versus the other.
“Additionally, it is high time he steps aside to allow local governments, educational institutions and businesses to require vaccinations for employees, students and customers if they feel that measure is called for to help save lives.
“DeSantis needs to set aside his desire to cater to the anti-vaccination radicals in the Republican Party base, along with any other considerations he may have, and enthusiastically champion a vaccine that has earned the ultimate endorsement of safety and effectiveness from the Food and Drug Administration. It is time for DeSantis to put the needs of Floridians above all else and become our state’s top promoter for vaccination.”