The US Food and Drug Administration approved an emergency use authorization for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on Friday, clearing the way for the distribution of the drug across the country.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Friday that the state expects to receive 170,000 doses of the vaccine by Sunday or Monday.
On Friday, President Trump criticized the FDA for the duration of its vaccine approval process.
While my pushing the money drenched but heavily bureaucratic @US_FDA saved five years in the approval of NUMEROUS great new vaccines, it is still a big, old, slow turtle. Get the dam vaccines out NOW, Dr. Hahn @SteveFDA. Stop playing games and start saving lives!!!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 11, 2020
On Thursday, a panel of external FDA advisers endorsed the emergency authorization of the vaccine.
White House chief of staff Mark Meadows pressured FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn to approve the emergency distribution of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in the US or face possible termination, according to The Washington Post, CNN and The Associated Press.
On Wednesday, a British regulatory agency said that people with a history of severe allergies should not take the Pfizer vaccine.
