The US Food and Drug Administration has approved updated COVID-19 vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna targeting newer variants of the disease in time for a fall vaccination campaign, the agency said on Thursday.
The US health regulator has approved the vaccines to target a variant known as “KP.2”, which dominated infections in recent months. It had asked manufacturers in June to target the strain.
“Vaccination continues to be the cornerstone of COVID-19 prevention,” said Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.
The FDA granted emergency use authorisation for Moderna’s shot, branded as Spikevax, and Pfizer and BioNTech shot branded as Comirnaty.