It was believed that the FDA would give emergency use authorization to Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine over the weekend, but now the New York Times reports that the agency “is accelerating the timeline… aiming to issue it by Friday evening.”

People familiar with the F.D.A.’s planning say that regulators are now racing to complete the required paperwork that goes with the authorization, including a fact sheet and information for physicians. The timing of the announcement appears unlikely to speed up the shipment of the initial doses of the vaccine, the people said, raising questions about the purpose of expediting the authorization.

The first vaccines are expected to be administered as early as Monday.