Updated COVID Vaccine Boosters to Roll Out in Fall
Pfizer and Moderna hope to deliver versions that are more effective against the BA.5 omicron subvariant by September, the FDA says.
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The plan for a summer vaccine booster campaign may have shifted to fall.
The US Food and Drug Administration is planning to begin a COVID-19 booster campaign with updated vaccines this fall, The New York Times reported Thursday. It comes after vaccine makers Pfizer and Moderna assured officials they could deliver shots that are more effective against the BA.5 omicron subvariant by September.
"The FDA has been working closely with vaccine manufacturers over the past several months to ensure that modified COVID-19 vaccines are available this fall," an FDA spokesperson told CNET in an emailed statement. The FDA will then review submissions to make those vaccines available. "Pfizer and Moderna have indicated that they anticipate the modified vaccines being available as early as September."
The fall campaign replaces a plan to let younger adults get second COVID-19 boosters this summer, so that more people will be protected against the highly contagious BA.5 in the winter, NPR noted.