An FDA Panel Cleared A COVID-19 Vaccine For Emergency Use. We Answer Your Questions About What&#8217

WAMU 88.5 | By Emmanuel Johnson

Published December 11, 2020 at 1:49 PM CST

A sign for the Food And Drug Administration is seen outside of the headquarters in White Oak, Maryland.

The COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer cleared an important hurdle on Thursday, when a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel consisting of 22 independent experts authorized it for emergency use in people aged 16 or older.

The first shipments of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine left a Michigan factory on Sunday, kicking off a historic effort to stop a surging pandemic that is claiming the lives of more than 2,400 Americans a day https://t.co/RGflwBINHn pic.twitter.com/T13t2mDdJl

— Reuters (@Reuters) December 14, 2020

It’s a critical step on the road to the country getting back to normal. But there will be other challenges to address before things feel like they did before the pandemic.

A large number of Americans still don’t believe in the efficacy of a vaccine, or they distrust how quickly it was developed. And then there’s the fact that despite a green light from the FDA, the U.S. will still likely have to wait a while before citizens are allowed to return to their lives as they used to know them.

What’s next in the fight against coronavirus? We bring you the latest COVID-19 vaccine update.