The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved updated Covid-19 vaccines on Thursday, allowing manufacturers to begin shipping doses. The approved vaccines are from Moderna, Novavax-Sanofi, and Pfizer-BioNTech.
These updated vaccines are designed to target the dominant XFG variant, following a recommendation from an advisory panel. Manufacturers had previously indicated they could produce the new shots in time for the 2026-27 immunization season.
The vaccines are approved for individuals aged 65 and older, as well as younger people with underlying conditions that increase their risk from Covid infection. For younger individuals with such conditions, age approvals vary by manufacturer: Moderna's shot is approved for those over six months, Pfizer-BioNTech's for those aged five and older, and Novavax-Sanofi's for those 12 and up.
Questions remain regarding potential insurance coverage for the updated shots. Insurers typically cover vaccines recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advisory panel, but it is unclear what will happen if no recommendation is issued. The CDC advisory panel has been inactive since a March ruling blocked appointments to it.
Current CDC data indicates that Covid-19 activity, tracked through testing and wastewater monitoring, is low but has been rising in recent weeks.