<p>An emergency use authorization request for the Covid-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech was expected to be filed with the FDA Friday, the US government and BioNTech's co-founder said.</p>.<p>This type of authorization is temporary or conditional and is granted in response to an emergency situation such as a pandemic -- and may be revoked or modified if new efficacy or safety data emerge later.</p>.<p>"Pfizer's partner BioNTech has announced that tomorrow, they intend to file for emergency use authorization at the FDA," health secretary Alex Azar told a press conference Thursday in Washington, referring to the Food and Drug Administration.</p>.<p>BioNTech co-founder Ugur Sahin earlier told AFP in a Zoom interview: "The documents will be finalized today and tomorrow and submitted to the FDA."</p>.<p><strong>Also Read: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/international/world-news-politics/chinas-covid-19-vaccine-administered-to-a-million-people-official-917599.html">China's Covid-19 vaccine administered to a million people</a></strong></p>.<p>The FDA did not say how long it would take to review the data on vaccine efficacy and safety, the two main criteria.</p>.<p>The scientific head of the US operation to develop a vaccine, Moncef Slaoui said Monday that the green light would probably come in December -- a timeframe echoed by Sahin.</p>.<p>He told AFP there is a chance they could receive the green light from the US "this year," and even starting delivering the vaccine by December.</p>.<p>The BioNTech/Pfizer shot and another one being developed by US firm Moderna have taken the lead in the global chase for a vaccine, after large-scale trial data this month showed that their jabs were around 95 percent effective against Covid-19.</p>.<p>The twin breakthroughs have lifted hopes for an end to a pandemic that has infected more than 56 million people and caused over 1.3 million deaths worldwide since the virus first emerged in China late last year.</p>.<p>"We would expect to see Moderna filing soon also," Azar said at the press conference.</p>.<p>The US, the European Union and a slew of other nations have already placed orders for hundreds of millions of doses of the top vaccine candidates in development.</p>.<p>Health workers, carers and people considered at high risk for severe Covid-19 are set to be first in line for the jabs.</p>
<p>An emergency use authorization request for the Covid-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech was expected to be filed with the FDA Friday, the US government and BioNTech's co-founder said.</p>.<p>This type of authorization is temporary or conditional and is granted in response to an emergency situation such as a pandemic -- and may be revoked or modified if new efficacy or safety data emerge later.</p>.<p>"Pfizer's partner BioNTech has announced that tomorrow, they intend to file for emergency use authorization at the FDA," health secretary Alex Azar told a press conference Thursday in Washington, referring to the Food and Drug Administration.</p>.<p>BioNTech co-founder Ugur Sahin earlier told AFP in a Zoom interview: "The documents will be finalized today and tomorrow and submitted to the FDA."</p>.<p><strong>Also Read: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/international/world-news-politics/chinas-covid-19-vaccine-administered-to-a-million-people-official-917599.html">China's Covid-19 vaccine administered to a million people</a></strong></p>.<p>The FDA did not say how long it would take to review the data on vaccine efficacy and safety, the two main criteria.</p>.<p>The scientific head of the US operation to develop a vaccine, Moncef Slaoui said Monday that the green light would probably come in December -- a timeframe echoed by Sahin.</p>.<p>He told AFP there is a chance they could receive the green light from the US "this year," and even starting delivering the vaccine by December.</p>.<p>The BioNTech/Pfizer shot and another one being developed by US firm Moderna have taken the lead in the global chase for a vaccine, after large-scale trial data this month showed that their jabs were around 95 percent effective against Covid-19.</p>.<p>The twin breakthroughs have lifted hopes for an end to a pandemic that has infected more than 56 million people and caused over 1.3 million deaths worldwide since the virus first emerged in China late last year.</p>.<p>"We would expect to see Moderna filing soon also," Azar said at the press conference.</p>.<p>The US, the European Union and a slew of other nations have already placed orders for hundreds of millions of doses of the top vaccine candidates in development.</p>.<p>Health workers, carers and people considered at high risk for severe Covid-19 are set to be first in line for the jabs.</p>