COVID-19 shots should be reformulated to target an XBB subvariant of the highly infectious omicron strain to provide the best protection during the U.S. fall and winter season, health regulators said.
The Food and Drug Administration advised Moderna Inc., Novavax Inc. and partners Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE to “develop vaccines with a monovalent XBB.1.5 composition,” according to a statement Friday. The decision follows a unanimous vote Thursday from a panel of experts who also favor updating the shots. The agency isn’t required to follow the panel’s recommendations, but often does.
“We need a better vaccine,” Eric Rubin, a panel member and professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said in the meeting. “We should be updating it, I think it’s pretty straightforward.”
