A committee of independent U.S. medical advisors have endorsed Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for the Food & Drug Administration's(FDA) emergency use authorization, taking the overwhelmed country a step closer to launching a massive vaccination program.

According to the Associated Press, the committee of experts in vaccines, infectious diseases and statistics arrived at the green light in a vote of 17-to-four on Thursday, with one abstention. 

The decision was reached despite lingering concerns, including whether the vaccine developed jointly with Germany's BioNTech would be effective in blocking asymptomatic transmissions. 

The recommendation also comes as the U.S. has been battered by COVID-19 infections, logging fresh record highs in virus-linked deaths. On Wednesday, it posted a single-day record of over 31-hundred, closing in on 300-thousand overall. 

CNN reports FDA's authorization based on the recommendation could come as early as Thursday or Friday as authorities rush to stem the virus tide. 

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine will need to clear a final hurdle by securing approval from an advisory committee of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC). A CDC spokesman told CNN she anticipates that vote to happen on Sunday.