U.S. FDA ADVISORY PANEL APPROVES PFIZER VACCINE

A panel of outside advisers to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has voted overwhelmingly to endorse emergency use of Pfizer Inc.’s coronavirus vaccine, Reuters reported.

The approval paves the way for the agency to authorize the shot for a nation that has lost more than 285,000 lives to COVID-19.

The committee voted 17-4 in favor that the known benefits of the vaccine, developed by Pfizer with Germany’s BioNTech, outweighed the risks in adults 16 years and older of taking the shot, with one member of the panel abstaining.

With the panel’s decision, the US could be third country to start the process of vaccinating millions of people. The US has the most number of people infected with COVID-19 worldwide, with more than 286,000 fatalities.