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Labor, Employment and Immigration Update

Final FDA Approval of Pfizer-BioNTech Vaccine Clears a Path for Employers to Mandate Vaccines

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today issued full approval for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, now marketed as Comirnaty, clearing a path for more employers and other institutions to mandate vaccinations. While lawsuits challenging vaccine mandates by private employers have failed to gain much traction thus far, the mere potential for litigation over vaccine mandates when COVID-19 vaccines were available only under the FDA’s emergency use authorization complicated many employers’ decisions over whether to issue such mandates. With voluntary vaccination incentive programs having largely played out, the FDA’s full approval of the Pfizer vaccine is welcome news for employers who wish to mandate the vaccine as a means toward fulfilling their responsibilities under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) to provide a safe work environment for their workforces.

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