Skip to main content

This Week Could Bring FDA Approval of Fall COVID-19 Vaccines

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on Aug 21, 2024.

By Physician’s Briefing Staff HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, Aug. 20, 2024 -- Updated COVID-19 vaccines may receive approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration this week.

Two sources familiar with the issue told CNN that updated mRNA vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer that target the KP.2 variant could be greenlit as early as this week. The news agency said the sources declined to be named because information around the timing of approval has not yet been made public. It is not clear whether approval for the Novavax non-mRNA shot, targeted to the JN.1 strain, would be approved simultaneously.

If approval does come this week, that would be a few weeks ahead of the timing for last fall's shots, which were approved on Sept. 11.

The news comes as Americans are suffering through a summer surge of COVID-19 cases -- the highest seen since the summer of 2022, based on wastewater levels of virus tracked by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

According to CDC data, the prevalent COVID-19 variant is now KP.3.1.1, thought to make up 37 percent of cases over the past two weeks. Still, experts note that although levels of severe disease have been rising, they remain much lower than those seen during the early years of the pandemic. KP.3.1.1 and KP.2, which are both covered in the updated shots, are offshoots of JN.1. All are members of the omicron family.

Both Moderna and Pfizer have said they have ample supplies of their updated COVID-19 vaccines on hand, ready for shipment to stores soon after FDA approval. The Novavax vaccine may take a bit longer to reach consumers, because its protein-based shot takes longer to manufacture than mRNA vaccines do.

In June, the CDC recommended that every American older than 6 months of age receive an updated COVID-19 shot along with the flu shot this year.

CNN Article

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Read this next

Declining Childhood Vaccination May Increase Risk for Vaccine-Preventable Infections

WEDNESDAY, April 30, 2025 -- Declining childhood vaccination rates may increase outbreaks of eliminated vaccine-preventable infections within the United States, leading to a...

CDC Provides Update on Measles Outbreak in the United States

TUESDAY, April 29, 2025 -- Eight hundred cases of measles were reported in the United States as of April 17, 2025, representing the second highest annual case count in 25 years...

Prevalence of Most Cancer Risk Factors Unchanged Before, After Pandemic

THURSDAY, April 24, 2025 -- Smoking rates continued to decline during the COVID-19 pandemic, but other major risk factors for cancer remained stable, according to a study...

More news resources

Subscribe to our newsletter

Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.