'Approved' or 'authorized'? When it comes to COVID-19 vaccines, words matter.

Pfizer-BioNTech's vaccine is the first to begin the FDA's full-approved process.

Pfizer and partner BioNTech have asked the Food and Drug Administration for full approval for their COVID-19 vaccine, a regulatory benchmark beyond the current emergency use authorization granted during the pandemic. Moderna and Johnson & Johnson are expected to submit similar requests before too long. Many are eager for COVID-19 vaccines to advance to full-approval status as they believe this will reassure those who are vaccine hesitant while also helping employers and universities to enforce vaccine mandates. It also would ensure that COVID-19 vaccines still could still be administered after the pandemic ends, and the declaration of "emergency" is over. "If the FDA provides full approval for these vaccines, we hope it will provide more confidence and ease the concerns of those who have not yet received the vaccine," said Dr. Michelle Medina, associate chief of clinical operations for Cleveland Clinic Community Health. Vaccine hesitancy surrounding the EUA status is thought be a major reason for many people not getting the vaccine despite widespread availability and relatively easy access. The U.S. seven-day average of daily vaccine doses administered keeps declining -- it now stands at 2 million, a decrease of more than 20% just in the last week and 35% lower than on April 11.