The U.S. is taking a major step this week towards the approval of the nation’s first COVID-19 vaccine as an independent panel of experts convened by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will meet on Thursday to discuss whether the evidence is strong enough to recommend emergency use authorization (EUA) of the vaccine developed by Pfizer and German biotechnology company BioNTech.
Thursday’s public meeting will be closely watched by health authorities around the world and is considered key to bolstering confidence in the shots amid skepticism about vaccine safety among many Americans. A final FDA decision and the first shots could follow within just days.
The meeting comes after U.S. regulators on Tuesday released their first scientific evaluation of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine and confirmed it offers strong protection, setting the stage for the government to green light the biggest vaccination effort in the nation’s history. FDA scientists reanalyzed data from Pfizer’s huge, still-unfinished study and found that so far, the vaccine appears safe and more than 90% effective across patients of different ages, races and underlying health conditions. The FDA specifically confirmed it works well in older people, who are especially vulnerable to the virus.
Today on AirTalk, we’ll speak with one of the independent advisers on the FDA panel that meets Thursday to find out more about what exactly the panel will discuss during its meeting and the specific considerations she will be taking as she sees and hears the evidence.
With files from the Associated Press
Guest:
Archana Chatterjee, M.D., vice president of medical affairs and dean of the Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, a private health sciences university in North Chicago, Illinois; she is a member of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, which is meeting Thursday to discuss emergency use authorization of Pfizer’s and BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine