Following the Coronavirus

US panel endorses widespread use of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine

1 min read
Documents created by Pfizer for the meeting with the Food and Drug Administration advisory panel, as Pfizer seeks approval for emergency use of their COVID-19 vaccine are seen on Thursday, Dec. 10, 2020. The FDA panel functions like a science court. During the scheduled daylong session, it was expected to debate and pick apart the data on whether the vaccine is safe and effective enough to be cleared for emergency use. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick)

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A U.S. government advisory panel has endorsed Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine, in a major step toward an epic vaccination campaign that could finally conquer the outbreak.

The Food and Drug Administration is expected to follow the recommendation issued Thursday by its expert advisers. The advisory group, in 17-4 vote with one abstention, concluded that the shot appears safe and effective against the coronavirus in people 16 and older.

A final FDA decision is expected within days. Millions of shots would then ship to begin vaccinating health care workers and nursing home residents. Widespread access to the general public is not expected until the spring.

Return to theintelligencer.net and read Friday’s Intelligencer and Wheeling News-Register for more on this developing story.

Starting at /week.