FDA panel recommends approval of Pfizer’s Covid vaccine

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Vaccines will soon be available for Americans following the recommendation by a panel of experts at the FDA.
• The injection could be the first step for Americans against the dreaded disease that killed no less than 300,000 people in the country.
• The first batch of injections will be given to health care workers and residents of nursing homes.

Americans, who were amongst the most affected with coronavirus, are to get a vaccine shot soon.

On Thursday, a government consultative board supported the candidate coronavirus vaccine from  Pfizer, which could give way for approval by the U.S Food and Drug Administration.

Getting a 17-4 vote with one nonparticipation, the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee of the FDA decided on the vaccine’s safety and effectivity for the use of individuals 16 and up during an emergency.

Following the conclusion, the FDA is likely to follow the endorsement by its advisers, and the agency could make its decision at any time from now.

The soonest time the FDA authorizes the shot, administering could commence within a matter of days for many public health care professionals and residents from nursing homes.

The injection could be the earliest approved injection in the nation against COVID-19, which led to the death of almost 300,000 Americans.

Although there are initial inquiries from the panel members if teens from 16-17 years should be included, the team proceeded with a green light, considering the age bracket’s risk is considerably low.

Pfizer’s recommendation covers individuals aged between 16-85 for its two-dose vaccine, still for emergency use.

A session with other health experts and vaccine supporters also ensued before the panel cast the votes. One of the concerns raised was a caution from British health experts that some people with certain levels of allergic reactions may not get a shot.

On Tuesday, two individuals who were administered with the coronavirus shot in the U.K. experienced a severe allergic reaction from it.

Dr. Doran Fink of the FDA said the Americans expect and are worthy of thorough and autonomous data evaluation, noting the agency expects a high-efficiency level.

Though Pfizer representatives said they are aware of the U.K case, they told the panel that no clear indication of allergic reactions manifested during the trials.

The group also talked about Pfizer’s proposal to give volunteers who received a test medicine in its research the chance to have the vaccine once they are suitable for it.

Some partakers gave surprising statistics which showed how important it is to distribute the vaccine soon.

Steven Goodman from the School of Medicine at Stanford University said that in every 1,000 Americans, 1 has a chance to die of coronavirus in the succeeding six months. Meanwhile, Aron Hall of the Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention confirmed that the real number of COVID-19 infections is between two to seven times greater than the reported 15 million cases.

Source: New York Post