US approves updated COVID-19 vaccines that will be available soon

WASHINGTON-

The U.S. regulator on Thursday approved updated COVID-19 vaccines designed to more accurately eliminate the latest strains of the virus and hopefully any other variants that cause trouble this winter.

With Food and Drug Administration approval, Pfizer and Moderna are beginning to distribute millions of doses. Novavax, a third-party U.S. manufacturer, expects a modified version of the vaccine to be available soon.

“We strongly urge eligible individuals to consider receiving the updated COVID-19 vaccine for better protection against currently circulating variants,” said FDA Vaccine Director Dr. Peter Marks.

The agency’s decision came shortly before the rollout of updated COVID-19 vaccines last year, as most countries are currently experiencing a summer surge of the virus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has already recommended that everyone six months and older get vaccinated this summer. Vaccines may be available within a few days.

While most Americans have some degree of immunity from previous infections, vaccines or both, that protection is waning. Vaccines last fall focused on another part of the coronavirus family tree, a strain that is no longer circulating, and CDC data show that only about 22.5% of adults and 14% of children got it.

Skipping a new vaccine is “dangerous behavior” because even if a person’s last infection was mild, the next infection could be worse or leave lasting COVID symptoms, said Dr. Robert Hopkins of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.

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