On Dec. 11, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an emergency use authorization of the COVID-19 vaccine. A day later, the FAA Office of Aerospace Medicine issued the following statement: “Holders of FAA-issued Airman Medical Certificates or Medical Clearances may receive the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine; however, a 48-hour no fly/no safety related duty interval must be observed after each dose.” While the FAA’s statement only mentions the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, NAAA believes the FAA will treat other vaccines similarly after receiving FDA approval.
NAAA has worked to ensure that the ag aviation industry is considered essential. Being designated as essential has allowed our activities to continue unabated during the pandemic. The distribution of these emergency use vaccines is the responsibility of each state. In most cases, essential workers will be offered the vaccine after front-line health care workers and at-risk populations.