An independent advisory panel voted on Thursday in favor of recommending that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorize the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, Stat News reports.
The 17-4 vote came after a lengthy meeting in which the panel of experts discussed whether the benefits of the vaccine candidate outweighed the risks for patients age 16 and up, reports NBC News. The vote was a key step on the path to FDA approval — while the FDA isn't obligated to follow the panel's recommendation, it is widely expected to authorize the vaccine and allow for the nation's existing doses to be distributed to priority groups, namely health care workers and long-term care facility residents. The Pfizer vaccine has already been approved for use in the U.K., Saudi Arabia, Canada and Bahrain. Read more at Stat News and NBC News.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Kennedy ousts entire CDC vaccine advisory panelspeed read Health Secretary RFK Jr. is a longtime anti-vaccine activist who has criticized the panel of experts
-
RFK Jr. scraps Covid shots for pregnant women, kidsSpeed Read The Health Secretary announced a policy change without informing CDC officials
-
New FDA chiefs limit Covid-19 shots to elderly, sickspeed read The FDA set stricter approval standards for booster shots
-
US overdose deaths plunged 27% last yearspeed read Drug overdose still 'remains the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-44,' said the CDC
-
Trump seeks to cut drug prices via executive orderspeed read The president's order tells pharmaceutical companies to lower prescription drug prices, but it will likely be thrown out by the courts
-
RFK Jr. visits Texas as 2nd child dies from measlesSpeed Read An outbreak of the vaccine-preventable disease continues to grow following a decade of no recorded US measles deaths
-
Shingles vaccine cuts dementia risk, study findsSpeed Read Getting vaccinated appears to significantly reduce the chances of developing Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia
-
Measles outbreak spreads, as does RFK Jr.'s influenceSpeed Read The outbreak centered in Texas has grown to at least three states and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is promoting unproven treatments
