It is the responsibility of the FDA to determine if and when vaccines are safe to be used on the general public. Generally, it can take years for vaccines to be thoroughly tested and have the data and results reviewed by the FDA. However, Covid 19 has meant that several companies have sought to develop a vaccine much sooner than would be the case. The Pfizer vaccine was shown to be 95% effective and was first approved for use in the United Kingdom earlier in the month. The FDA considered the emergency use of the vaccine.
The FDA said on Friday(12/11/20), “Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued the first emergency use authorization (EUA) for a vaccine for the prevention of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in individuals 16 years of age and older. The emergency use authorization allows the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine to be distributed in the U.S”.
The emergency use of the Pfizer vaccine is regarded as essential in fighting back against the Covid 19 pandemic across the United States. The country has been the worst affected by the virus and getting a vaccination program in place needed the approval of the FDA to be used by the end of the year. It completed tests and analysis much sooner than normal without cutting any corners to allow emergency authorization so soon.