CDC panel clears Pfizer Covid vaccine for people 16 years and older, clearing another pivotal hurdle

A key U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention panel voted unanimously to recommend Pfizer–BioNTech‘s Covid-19 vaccine for people 16 years and older on Saturday, clearing another pivotal hurdle for the drug before vaccinations begin in the coming days.

The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, an outside group of medical experts that advises the agency, voted 11 to 0 recommend the vaccine for use in people 16 and older under the Food and Drug Administrations emergency authorization. Three members recused themselves due to conflicts.

On Dec. 1, the group voted 13-1 to give health-care workers and long-term care facility residents the first vaccine doses once cleared for public use. The ACIP’s emergency meeting, which was pushed from Sunday to Saturday, followed the FDA’s decision to issue Pfizer’s vaccine an emergency use authorization Friday evening.

This is a developing story. Please check back later for updates.