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In America, too, the corona vaccine from the pharmaceutical company Pfizer and its German partner Biontech is about to receive emergency approval.
A commission from the FDA recommended the use of the vaccine on Thursday.
The panel discussed formulas, tables and graphics for eight hours live on the Internet, tens of thousands of people watched.
In the end, the results were: The BNT162b2 vaccine is safe and effective for citizens over 16 years of age.
17 participants in the meeting voted for the recommendation, four against and one abstained.
The country is thus getting closer to a vaccine.
The FDA has the final say on the emergency approval, but it is certain that the agency will follow the advice of its experts.
Approval is expected in the coming days.
And just a few hours later, the first doses should be distributed to doctors and nurses.
The virus is out of control in America.
There are hardly any beds left in the hospitals and there is a shortage of staff.
Some clinics ask nurses who have tested positive for Corona but are not showing any symptoms to keep coming to work.
Several cities have given up tracking down the pathogen; there are simply too many cases.
Covid-19 has even replaced heart disease as the leading cause of death in the USA.
3071 infected people died on Wednesday alone - a new high.
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Biontech and Pfizer's vaccine is set to help end the drama.
The FDA had already praised him before the meeting.
Just ten days after the first dose, the authority wrote in a more than 100-page report at the beginning of the week, there is "strong protection against Covid-19".
After the second dose, it was said to be 95 percent effective, regardless of the age, weight or gender of the patient.
And serious side effects are not to be feared.
American immunologists called the FDA analysis a “testimonial full of ones” for Biontech and Pfizer.
On Thursday, the experts also pointed out a problem.
Paul Offit, a renowned Philadelphia doctor, raised two cases of allergic reactions to the UK's first corona vaccinations.
"Millions of American allergy sufferers," said Offit, "are now likely to fear vaccination." The incidents overseas threatened to undermine confidence in the vaccine.
"People's perception," said Offit, "is as important as reality."
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Biontech and Pfizer applied for emergency approval in the US in November.
The European Medicines Agency is also currently advising on the vaccine.
Britain had already approved it last week and injected the first doses on Tuesday.
Canada and Bahrain also approved the vaccine.
There are seven different vaccines in development in the United States, four of which have reached final stages of major clinical trials.
Two manufacturers - Biontech and Pfizer as well as the US company Moderna - have applied for emergency approvals.
The FDA experts want to discuss the Moderna drug next Thursday.
All vaccines have been developed at an unprecedented rate.
"Operation Warp Speed" is what the White House calls its program to promote vaccine research, an allusion to the spaceships of the cult series "Star Trek" that race through space at faster than light speeds.
The US government plans to vaccinate 20 million citizens by the end of December and 100 million by the end of March next year.
The virus is highly political in America
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Vaccination of the population quickly is particularly important for the United States.
Because measures that helped contain the virus elsewhere are met with great resistance here.
Even when the country was in the middle of the second wave, some Republican governors allowed mass events.
The virus is highly political in America.
Many supporters of the elected President Donald Trump see masks, distance rules and contact tracing as symbols of submission.
The state, they think, is interfering too much in their private life.
Few of them want to do without traveling.
At the end of November, half the nation met to celebrate Thanksgiving, one of the most important festivals of the year.
Almost 60 million citizens drove and flew all over the country visiting family members.
A disaster, say America's health experts.
In fact, the number of infections rose significantly after Thanksgiving.
Most recently, more than 200,000 people tested positive every day.
In total, there have been more than 15 million cases since the beginning of the pandemic - that's more than in any other country.
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Will the upcoming emergency approval quickly end the drama?
Probably not.
One reason for this is that the vaccine could also become a political issue.
In a survey from mid-November, only 58 percent said they wanted to be vaccinated - Americans are generally much more skeptical of their state and their pharmaceutical companies than Germans.
Mistrust is particularly high among Republicans.
Doctor Offit also drew attention to the problem in the hearing on Thursday.
The BNT162b2 vaccine, he said, has one of the most awkward names he has ever seen.
That doesn't exactly create credibility.