FDA eyes full authorization of COVID vaccines 'early next year'

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) predicts that several COVID-19 vaccines could receive full marketing authorization by the first quarter of 2022.

Currently, the FDA has only granted emergency use authorization to nine vaccine brands including Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca, Sinovac, Gamaleya Institute, Johnson & Johnson, Bharat Biotech, Moderna, Sinopharm, and Novovax.

Full approval would allow these vaccines to be sold commercially in drugstores.