The FDA’s vaccine advisory committee voted late Thursday to recommend that the agency issue emergency use authorization (EUA) to the Pfizer vaccine. During the seven-hour hearing, the panel, made up of outside experts, heard from Pfizer officials, and weighed evidence collected during vaccine trials.

BREAKING: The FDA's vaccine advisory panel votes to recommend emergency use authorization for Pfizer vaccine:
17 voted yes
4 voted no
1 abstained #COVID19

— Norah O'Donnell ?? (@NorahODonnell) December 10, 2020

The Washington Post points out:

The in-depth presentation showed that the vaccine was 95 percent effective at preventing disease in its large clinical trial and had no major safety concerns, although it commonly triggered minor, short-lived adverse effects — such as pain at the injection site, headaches, fatigue and chills. The presentation also explained the science behind the vaccine, utilizing a snippet of genetic material to instruct the body’s cells to build the spike protein found on the surface of the coronavirus. The immune system learns from that exposure how to recognize the real virus.

The United Kingdom started administering the Pfizer vaccine earlier this week and Canada announced its own approval of the vaccine on Wednesday.

If, as expected, the FDA takes the recommendation from the panel, the first vaccines could be administered here in the United States as early as Monday.

The whole of the FDA – myself included – remains committed to keeping the public informed about the evaluation of the data of a potential #COVID19 vaccine, so that once available, Americans can have trust and confidence in receiving the vaccine for their families and themselves.

— Dr. Stephen M. Hahn (@SteveFDA) December 10, 2020

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