An all-star panel of COVID-19 experts will convene this week to hash out how and when vaccines should be updated to address future variants as the virus continues to rapidly mutate.
The meeting of U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisers should provide some of the first hints of its strategy to map out a more proactive plan for developing strain-specific boosters. Until now, the process has been led by drugmakers such as Moderna Inc. and Pfizer Inc., which have gained approval for boosters for specific populations.
This is likely just the beginning. Many researchers believe the vaccines will need to be periodically updated to counteract new strains, just like annual flu shots. Figuring out how best to do this may be crucial to staving off future COVID-19 waves.
