PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — At the end of January, Moderna joined Pfizer in getting the FDA to offer full approval for their COVID-19 vaccines.
But Children's Hospital of Philadelphia's Dr. Paul Offit, who served on the FDA's Vaccine Advisory Committee, said he doesn't believe the official approval for the shots will have crowds of people running to get it, despite the fact that people often use non-FDA approved items like over-the-counter supplements, protein powders and cosmetics all the time.
"I think we're not going to boost our way out of this pandemic, I think we're not going to mask our way out of this pandemic, and I think we're not going to test our way out of this pandemic," Dr. Offit said.
"The only way we're going to get out of this pandemic is to vaccinate our way out."
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Dr. Offit said that as of last week, about 30% of the population is unvaccinated against COVID-19.
Pfizer and Moderna both now have official approval from the FDA, but Dr. Offit believes that won't be enough to get more shots into arms.
"We have to find people who those communities trust to give good information about vaccines," he said.
He added there are already people in the City of Philadelphia doing just that.
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"When you look at a doctor like Dr. Ala Stanford, who goes into the North Philadelphia community and is able to convince thousands of people in that community to get vaccinated, they trust her in that community, and maybe that's what is going to have to happen."
He believes this type of education needs to be done on the grassroots level, not through federal or state government.
Part of that education also involves how many of us already have products in our home that have not been given the same federal licensing as the Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines.
The FDA's website states that federal law doesn't require dietary supplements to get official approval from them before producing or selling their products.
Offit said that such full approval from the FDA for the vaccines is not enough for some people to get the shots, even as they buy those dietary products without such approval.
"The nutraceuticals that you buy at, for example, the General Nutrition Center are not regulated products," said Dr. Offit.
"What's on the label is not necessarily in the bottle. The FDA does not have, for the most part, oversight on those products."
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He said you can buy these products like certain vitamins and protein powders over the counter.
"For some reason, we seem to trust that more than we trust FDA-licensed products," said Dr. Offit.
The FDA states online that they also do not approve compounded drugs, tobacco products, or cosmetics.
When they give approval, it means a vigorous review process was done, and the FDA deems the benefits of the product outweigh the known risks.
