A federal advisory panel on Thursday recommended the emergency use of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine. The Food and Drug Administration is expected to approve the drug, kicking off a massive nationwide operation to get nearly 3 million doses of the vaccine to hospitals and drug stores across the country. “We’ve been working very closely with our state and local partners to make sure they have plans in place to identify providers that are able to receive, store and use the vaccine,” said Dr. Anita Patel, deputy of the CDC’s vaccine task force. The experts voted 17 to 4 in favor of recommending the drug for emergency use for people aged 16 years and older, with one of the members withholding. Health care workers and nursing home residents will be among the first to get the vaccine.