#FDA approves new COVID vaccines

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved newly updated COVID-19 shots on Monday in an effort to give Americans some added protection ahead of a potential winter uptick in infections.

Outside advisors for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Tuesday will recommend who should get the shots, which are manufactured by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech. Once the CDC director signs off, the shots will be available to the public. 

“Vaccination remains critical to public health and continued protection against serious consequences of COVID-19, including hospitalization and death,” said Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, on Monday. “The public can be assured that these updated vaccines have met the agency’s rigorous scientific standards for safety, effectiveness, and manufacturing quality. We very much encourage those who are eligible to consider getting vaccinated.”

The updated shots were designed to target the XBB.1.5 variant, which was dominant when vaccine makers began to formulate and test a new version. That variant is no longer dominant, though experts and administration officials have said the vaccines should still be effective at preventing severe infection against other variants that are circulating because they’re closely related.

–Developing