Following the Emergency Use Authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, the FAA has determined that pilots may receive the vaccine. Air Traffic Controllers, who are subject to FAA medical clearance, may also receive the vaccine.
“To maintain the highest level of safety in the National Airspace System, the agency will require aviation professionals with medical certifications or medical clearances to observe a period of 48 hours following the administration of this vaccine before conducting safety-sensitive aviation duties, such as flying or controlling air traffic,” FAA officials said.
Because the Pfizer vaccine requires two doses, 21 days apart for maximum effectiveness, this waiting period applies after each dose.
The FAA anticipates taking no additional measures to ensure safety after the initial window for side effects closes. However, the agency’s medical professionals will continuously monitor the initial distribution of the vaccine and documented clinical results and will adjust these recommendations as needed, agency officials noted.
The FAA will evaluate vaccines from other manufacturers as they receive FDA authorization in the coming weeks and months and will advise pilots and air traffic controllers of any waiting periods required for those vaccines.
The FAA applies similar brief waiting periods after administration of other vaccines, including those for tuberculosis and typhoid.
For more information, visit the Medical Certification page at FAA.gov.
The news was welcomed by general aviation’s advocacy groups.
“We are grateful to the FAA for taking this immediate and proactive step to address medical certification concerns related to COVID-19 vaccinations that will aid in keeping the aviation industry moving forward,” said National Business Aviation Association President and CEO Ed Bolen. “Administrator (Steve) Dickson’s previous military and civilian aviation experience continues to offer him unique insights on pilot-focused challenges, which in this case have proven astute, and we thank him and his team for their foresight and action on this matter.”
Fascinating. The collective IQ of the 3 posters here is about room temperature.
Lets be real clear about something – NO politician ANYWHERE can claim credit for the Covid vaccine. Covid is a natural phenomenon, the vaccine was created by scientists working for pharmaceutical companies, not by politicians. “Ordering” someone to “make a vaccine!” is total BS, we’re just lucky that it was possible to do it at all. Claiming credit after 300,000 Americans are dead (which is more deaths than we had in WW2), and are dying at a rate of 3,000 a day (which is more than we lost on 9/11 or at Pearl Harbor) shows the total and complete mismanagement of the problem by ALL the politicians desperately trying to minimize the problem (“it is no worse than a bad cold” or “it will miraculously disappear in the spring”) or deflect blame (“the Chinese virus”).
This is the price we paid and will continue to pay for politicizing EVERYTHING. Sea levels will rise no matter what politicians say, global warming will continue unless we DO something about it instead of denying it. Until public policy is science based again, politics and politicians ARE the problem, they are not the answer. Doesn’t matter who you vote for, reality has no party affiliation and flat doesn’t care.
As to the FAA ruling on this shot (or sequence of shots), they already rule on other aero-medical matters and areas of concern, and it is absolutely within their remit to do so. Ask yourself this, if you can’t fly for 48 hours, will you die? If you have an unexpected reaction within that 48 hours and you are flying, you and your passengers may very well die. Do you prefer to be unhappy for two days or do you prefer to be a statistic?
Half of this country is morons? When over 150,000,000 Americans are “out of step”, you might want to consider that it might be you who is out of step, not over 150,000,000 of them . . .
The FAA is the second biggest dictatorship in the Federal Bureacracy, right behind the I.R.S. I know several guys in one of the FSDO in my area and they are sharp, however, their hands are tied by the idiot lawyers and “no-nothings” in Washington.By the way, did you know you can fly the day after using Cialis but you can’t the day after using Viagra. I wonder how many pilots have broken the stupid rule?
This is laughably typical of a government agency, especially the FAA. The vaccine is no worse than a flu shot. The ONLY difference is you have to get two shots two weeks apart to get 95% immunity. Most flu shots are about 50% effective and no followup is allowed. There is ZERO need for the FAA to ‘rule’ on this shot. And it is absurd to make anyone wait two entire days after each of these shots to fly… Half of this country (and most of federal govt emps) are morons. And you know who they voted for…not the guy that got them this miracle vaccine.