US recommends emergency use of Pfizer vaccine

An independent advisory committee for the Food and Drug Administration voted for emergency approval of a COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, Report says, citing Reuters.

The FDA isn’t required to follow the advice of the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, although it usually does.

The panel voted to recommend approval with 17 votes for approval, four against, and one abstaining.

The committee’s recommendation is for emergency use of the vaccine in people 16 years or older.

However, there was disagreement among the committee on whether 16- and 17-year-olds should be included due to a lack of clinical trial data on this group.

FDA could exclude this group if it moves forward with the emergency use authorization (EUA).

Last week, U.K. regulators approved the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for emergency use, with the first vaccinations occurring on Tuesday.