F.D.A. Clears Pfizer Vaccine, and Millions of Doses Will Be Shipped Right Away

Even though the F.D.A. was going to approve the Pfizer vaccine in any case, some experts warned that the pressure from the White House could undermine public trust in the agency’s decision-making.

“This may actually do more harm than good, because all it will do is inject more politics into a scientific process,” said Dr. Aaron S. Kesselheim, a professor at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

A similar vaccine, developed by Moderna, is also under review by the F.D.A. and could soon be cleared for emergency use. On Friday, the federal government announced it had ordered another 100 million doses from Moderna, adding to a deal this summer for an initial supply of 100 million doses. Other vaccines, including ones developed by Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca, are in late-stage trials and could be authorized in the next few months.

In anticipation of the vaccine arriving across the country, Americans expressed both hope and anxiety.

Dr. Samu Queen, a physician in Portland, Ore., said her geriatric patients are especially eager to receive the vaccine. “They are all very anxious,” she said. “Pretty much everyone, at every appointment, is ready to get it.”

Dr. Queen said she was watching closely to see how initial subjects in Britain were responding. She described herself as “somewhat apprehensive about how safe it is, versus not.”

Joshua Ball, the associate executive director of Shaping Our Appalachian Region, an economic development group in eastern Kentucky, has been a primary caretaker for his father, who had a stroke earlier this year and has other health issues. During the pandemic, he has had to try and help remotely as much as possible.