An advisory committee to the Food and Drug Administration voted Thursday to recommend emergency use authorization for the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.
The FDA’s “emergency use authorization” is used to speed up the availability of medical products during a health crisis.
Before the start of a massive vaccination campaign, a final approval must come from the FDA itself.
While the administration is not required to follow the advisory committee’s recommendation, officials say it usually does.
Depending on how fast the FDA signs off on the panel’s recommendation, officials say the United States could see vaccine doses administered within days.
Even if the FDA gives the vaccine a green light, it would still only allow limited use in certain high-risk groups because studies are not yet complete. That comes under FDA’s emergency use authorization.
