The FDA's vaccine advisory committee voted Dec. 10 to recommend the agency grant emergency use authorization to Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine candidate.
The panel voted on just one question: Based on the totality of scientific evidence available, do the benefits of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine outweigh its risks for use in individuals 16 years of age and older?
Out of 22 voting members, 17 voted "yes," four voted "no" and one chose to abstain from voting.
The FDA is expected to follow the committee's recommendation and quickly issue an emergency use authorization for the vaccine. People familiar with the FDA's plans told The New York Times that the agency is expected to issue an EUA Dec. 12, barring any last-minute legal or bureaucratic requirements. The agency has said that vaccines will start to be distributed within 24 hours of authorization.
The vaccine committee, called the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, is made up of outside experts including physicians, academics, disease experts and biostatisticians. They have all been vetted for conflicts of interest before becoming members of the committee.