RICHMOND, Va. – Gov. Ralph Northam says he welcomes full FDA approval of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine and hopes the stamp of approval will convince more Virginians get vaccinated. Northam said he doesn’t see “any excuse for people to roll up their sleeve and get a shot.”

According to the Virginia Department of Health, just over 75 percent of adults 18 and older have gotten at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine. Northam said he hopes that number will rise now that the federal agency has given the vaccine its unqualified endorsement. He said that should remove any doubt about its effectiveness.

Full approval of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine means it meets the same “very high standards required of all the approved vaccines we rely on every day,” said Dr. Jesse Goodman of Georgetown University, a former FDA vaccine chief. That should help “anyone who still has concerns gain confidence” in the shots.