FDA vaccine advisor says approval decision could come within week

A senior Food and Drug Administration (FDA) vaccine adviser has said the decision on whether or not to approve a Pfizer coronavirus vaccine candidate could be made within a week.

James Hildreth, a member of the FDA’s vaccine advisory committee, said the agency would vote Thursday on whether to provide an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the Pfizer vaccine and that the vaccine’s distribution could start the next day.

“We will be spending Thursday going through Pfizer’s data, and at the end of the day there will be a vote. So at the end of the day next Thursday a decision could be made regarding the vaccine, ”he told NBC News on Saturday.

“If the FDA commissioner decides to give his approval, the EUA, on the day of the vote, as early as Friday next week, we could see vaccinations taking place across the country,” he added.

The approval could begin the process of delivering much-needed vaccines across the country, as the country sees an alarming increase in cases. More than 210,000 new cases of coronavirus were identified on Friday alone, and the total number of hospitalizations reached a new high of more than 100,000.

Early data shows Pfizer’s vaccine to be 95 percent effective, and the UK and Bahrain have already approved it.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said earlier this week that health workers and residents of long-term care facilities should be the first to receive a vaccine. People over the age of 65, essential workers and people with underlying health problems will be vaccinated in a second phase.