The FDA just approved the new Covid vaccine: When to get it and more
Learn more about the upcoming Covid-19 vaccine doses, including when you'll be able to get the shot, what it targets and more.
The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved the new Covid vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna.
It’s the third time the vaccines have been updated to match circulating strains since the original series. The shots should be available within days. The agency hasn't yet approved a third vaccine, from drugmaker Novavax.
The timing of the new vaccines — last year's rollout was in mid-September — is significant, since most of the U.S. is still caught in the summer wave of Covid illness. As of Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported, the number of people testing positive for Covid keeps rising and emergency room visits for Covid have been increasing since mid-May. Hospitalizations are rising, too.
Here’s what to know about the updated vaccines.
The new shots from Pfizer and Moderna are designed to target the KP.2 strain, a descendant of the highly contagious JN.1 variant that began circulating widely in the U.S. last winter. The drugmakers started making the new doses in June after the FDA advised them to freshen the formulas to match the version of the virus that was gaining ground in the U.S.
Rating: 5