Medical experts advising the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have recommended emergency approval for the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine.
The decision comes after a 23-member panel met to determine whether the drug's benefits outweigh the risks.
The Pfizer vaccine has already been approved for the public in the UK, Canada, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
The drug still needs to be formally approved by the FDA's vaccine chief, which is expected in the coming days.
The recommendation comes a day after the US recorded more than 3,000 deaths in the latest 24-hour period - the highest total in a single day anywhere in the world.