Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine wins crucial approval as US cases soar (2nd Ld)

By Nikhila Natarajan New York, Dec 11 : After nine hours of non-stop debate, a high powered US vaccine advisory panel endorsed mass use of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine, putting the country just one step away from a historic vaccination campaign against a virus that has killed more than 292,000 Americans.
Shots could come within days. The US Food and Drug Administration is expected to follow the panel’s recommendation anytime now, setting the stage for the largest vaccination drive in America’s history.
In a 17-4 vote, the usually obscure Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC), decided that Pfizer’s shot is safe in people aged 16 and older.
Before the final vote, which came around 6 pm EST, the chair of the vaccine panel boiled down the issues to a single question: Do the benefits of the Pfizer vaccine outweigh its risks for vaccination in people aged 16 and older? The sticking point for the last one hour was about vaccine safety in 16 and 17 year olds. “The data is thinnest in this age group,” said one of the vaccine advisory members. At least three members said they would prefer vaccinations only for people older than 18.
“The question is whether you know enough” to get the country to a safer place, said panel member Dr. Paul Offit of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Offit voted to greenlight the vaccine.