Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 shot sails through FDA panel after staffers sing its praises

Pfizer and BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine is one step closer to an emergency nod after an expert panel voted in favor of its emergency use Thursday evening.

The Vaccines and Related Biologics Products Advisory Committee voted 17-4, with one panel member abstaining, that the benefits of the vaccine outweighed its risks for use in people 16 and older. The outcome was expected given the vaccine's 95% efficacy rate and FDA staffers' rosy outlook on the vaccine in briefing documents published on Tuesday.