FDA advisers back updated COVID shots for fall vaccinations

June 15th, 2023

In Georgia, there has been a slight uptick in hospitalizations and death in recent months, but both measures remain remarkably low, especially when compared to other phases of the pandemic.
Esteban Felix / Esteban Felix

A panel of expert advisers to the Food and Drug Administration voted unanimously Thursday to recommend that the COVID-19 vaccine be updated to target emerging subvariants of omicron.

The COVID shot that’s currently available is known as a “bivalent” vaccine because it was tailored to target both the original strain of the coronavirus and the omicron subvariants that dominated last winter.

But the FDA panel recommended that drugmakers abandon the bivalent design and instead move to a “monovalent” vaccine that only targets omicron subvariants. The idea is to roll out the newly formulated shots in anticipation of a possible uptick in cases this fall.

In an analysis, FDA scientists said data from vaccine manufacturers indicate that an updated monovalent formulation that targets XBB subvariants “elicits stronger neutralizing antibody responses” against XBB strains than current bivalent vaccines.

At the moment, the XBB.1.5 strain accounts for the majority of new infections in the U.S.

This is a developing story