A CDC panel recommended Saturday that Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine be used by people over the age of 16.
The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices made the recommendation in an 11-0 vote, according to CNBC.
An FDA panel made the same recommendation following deliberations on Thursday, but President Donald Trump and many lawmakers are frustrated with how long the process has taken.
White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows reportedly called FDA head Stephen Hahn and told him to approve the vaccine by Friday or resign. Hahn denied that characterization of the phone call, however. (RELATED: Pfizer Vaccine ‘Likely’ To Be Discouraged For Pregnant Women, FDA Adviser Says)
UPDATE: “This is an untrue representation of the phone call with the CoS. The FDA was encouraged to continue working expeditiously on […] EUA request. FDA is committed to issuing this authorization quickly as we noted in our statement this morning” -Dr Hahn per @albamonica https://t.co/p9FXsGd6RF
— Ayman Mohyeldin (@AymanM) December 11, 2020
Hahn’s FDA granted the vaccine an emergency use authorization Friday.
The Trump administration promised that 100 million doses of an effective vaccine would be available by the end of 2020, and that an additional 600 million would be available to the public by March 2021, though there was some disagreement about the timeline.
Trump has also accused President-elect Joe Biden of seeking to “take over” credit for developing the vaccine, which occurred at a record pace. Traditional vaccines take years or even decades to develop.