The first doses are set to be administered on Monday.
The US government advisory panel has authorised the use of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine.
It’s a landmark moment in the country as the death toll from the virus in the US is set to exceed 300,000 in the coming days.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the vaccine for emergency use for people aged 16 and older, with those working in healthcare and nursing home residents expected to be initial priority for inoculation.
“Today’s emergency use authorisation of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 Vaccine holds the promise to alter the course of this pandemic in the United States,” Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said in a press release.
BioNTech Chief Executive Ugur Sahin said the vaccine “will help to save lives across the United States and could accelerate a return to normality.”
“The first vaccine will be administered in less than 24 hours,” US President Donald Trump said in an address released on his Twitter page.
“Through our partnership with FedEx and UPS, we have already begun shipping the vaccine to every state and zip code in the country,” he added.
It’s understood FDA chief Stephen Hahn faced pressure from the White House to grant an emergency use authorisation for Pfizer’s vaccine by the end of the day or else face dismissal from his role.
The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine was approved for use in the UK earlier this month with the first person to receive it being an Irish grandmother.
Canada has also approved the vaccine for use and is expected to begin inoculations from next week.
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