The recommendation for use by people age 16 and older needs to be accepted by the CDC director before vaccines can begin

Eleven members of the committee voted in favor and three recused.

Vaccines cannot be administered until CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield accepts the committee’s recommendation, which is expected to take place within hours.

The US Food and Drug Administration on Friday authorized Pfizer and BioNTech’s coronavirus vaccine for emergency use in the United States.