US Pfizer Covid vaccine approved for urgent use
The US Food and Drug Administration has authorized the Pfizer BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for emergency use.
The agency had come under powerful pressure from the Trump administration to approve the vaccine's use.
FDA head Stephen Hahn was told to approve it on Friday or quit, US media said, although he called this "untrue".
President Donald Trump says the initial vaccinations will take place "in less than a day". The virus has killed a lot more than 292,000 in the US.
Health insurance and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, told reporters previously Friday that his department works with Pfizer to get the mass vaccination course started by Monday or Tuesday.
The Pfizer vaccine has received regulatory approval in the UK, Canada, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
On Wednesday, the US recorded a lot more than 3,000 deaths - the best total in a single day anywhere in the world.
On Thursday, medical authorities advising the FDA recommended the emergency-work with approval. A 23-member panel concluded the vaccine's benefits outweighed its risks.
"Following yesterday's great advisory committee conference outcome about the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine, the US Food and Drug Administration has informed the sponsor that it'll rapidly function toward finalization and issuance of a crisis work with authorization," the FDA statement explained.
"The agency has also notified the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Operation Warp Speed [the federal government's vaccine distribution program], so they can execute their plans for timely vaccine distribution."
