EU to assess Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine

The European Medicines Agency is meeting Monday to consider approving a coronavirus vaccine developed by BioNTech and Pfizer that would be the first to be authorized for use in the European Union.

The closed-door meeting comes several weeks after the shot was granted permission under emergency provisions by regulators in Britain and the United States.

If EMA scientists conclude that the vaccine is safe, officials at the Amsterdam-based agency are expected to give conditional approval for it to be used across the 27-nation bloc.

The European Commission must still rubber-stamp the decision before the vaccine can be rolled out, a process German officials say could begin December 27. The pharmaceutical companies will also need to submit follow-up data on their vaccine for the next year.

The European regulator came under heavy pressure last week from countries calling for the vaccine to be granted approval for use as quickly as possible.

It had originally set December 29 as the date for its evaluation of the vaccine made by Germany-based BioNTech, but moved the meeting forward after calls from Berlin and others to move quicker.

The vaccine has already been given some form of regulatory OK in over a dozen countries.

BioNTech and Pfizer offered the EU 400 million doses of the vaccine, but the bloc's executive Commission chose to buy only 200 million doses, with an option for 100 million more.