Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine passed a critical milestone on Thursday when a panel of experts formally recommended that the Food and Drug Administration authorize the vaccine. The agency is likely to do so within days, giving health care workers and nursing home residents first priority to begin receiving the first shots early next week.
The F.D.A.’s vaccine advisory panel, composed of independent scientific experts, infectious disease doctors and statisticians, voted 17 to 4, with one member abstaining, in favor of emergency authorization for people 16 and older. Although the F.D.A. does not have to follow the advice of its advisory panel, it usually does.
Canada’s health regulator on Wednesday approved Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, making it the third country to authorize the use of the shot – as the green-lighting of the vaccine in the US is still at least another day away.
(Reuters) - China ordered inspections of imported cold chain products to prevent the spread of COVID-19, while Australia said its international borders would stay shut for now and health officials warned Americans could face a "rough" winter.
