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(CNN Spanish) –– The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) voted to recommend the Pfizer and BioNTech coronavirus vaccine in people age 16 and older . This puts the United States one step closer to vaccinating millions of people.
(Credit: Matthew Horwood / Getty Images)
Eleven members of the CDC committee voted in favor and three recused themselves against the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine.
Vaccines cannot be administered until CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield accepts the committee’s recommendation, which is expected to take place within hours.
The members of this committee, whose acronym in English are ACIP, noted that their evaluation of the vaccine was independent and transparent. “I think the process we have used here at ACIP to reach this decision is transparent, science-based, fair-minded, and right now the best we can do,” Dr. Beth said. Bell, a clinical professor of global health at the University of Washington.
Veronica McNally, assistant dean of experiential education at Michigan State University School of Law, noted that the group has held nine meetings and heard more than 70 presentations on COVID-19 and the vaccine since February.
“At this moment, we are asked how to achieve a greater good. As the pandemic continues to spread, hospitalizations are at record levels, I vote for vaccines to be available according to the CDC prioritization schedule, “said Dr. Katherine Poehling, ACIP Fellow and Professor of Pediatrics at the College of Medicine of Wake Forest University. “I will take this vaccine and recommend it to my family members as well.”
What’s next for the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine?
The committee’s vote comes after, on Friday night, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized the emergency use of the vaccine in the United States. This is the first covid-19 vaccine to receive this type of FDA approval. The FDA clearance came on one of the worst days of the pandemic in the US, with a record number of new cases, deaths and patients with COVID-19 in hospitals across the country.
Now, the CDC must decide whether to accept the recommendation of the Immunization Practices Advisory Committee. Once that happens, the vaccines can be given. Officials with the federal government’s Operation Warp Speed say they are already packing vaccines for distribution Monday.
