US announces emergency utilisation of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced emergency permission to practice the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on Friday, covering the space for the first Americans to be immunised in the upcoming days.

“I am allowing the emergency treatment of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID‑19 Vaccine for the prevention of COVID-19,” The agency’s chief scientist- Denise Hinton, declared in a message to a Pfizer executive.

The resolution follows a regulatory method that included a committee of independent advisors weighing in on the security of a two-dose vaccine that the drugmaker had claimed to be recommended for treatment in people aged 16 and older.

Authorities and medical specialists hope the vaccine will assist in getting the pandemic under limitation after more than 292,000 Americans have been killed to date – more than any other nation in the world. Over 15.8 million have been infected with the novel coronavirus in the US. 

In a statement published on social media, US President Donald Trump welcomed the progress as a “medical wonder”, figuring that the first vaccine will be determined in the next 24 hours.

“This is one of the largest scientific achievements in history,” he continued.

“It will protect millions of lives and end the pandemic once and for all.”

As per a tally by Johns Hopkins University, more than 2,700 people lost their lives in the US on Thursday, unrelenting pace that medical authorities have stated is expected to continue into the upcoming months.

The disturbing wave of COVID-19 cases throughout the country has filled hospitals and overstretched healthcare operators, a large number of them have tested positive for the virus themselves.

In a statement published on Friday, the FDA announced it had informed the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Operation Warp Speed – the federal government’s vaccine development programme – to make for the swift delivery of the vaccine in the country.

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar stated recently that following the FDA’s permission, “We could be witnessing people getting vaccinated Monday, Tuesday of next week”.