The
Food
and
Drug
Administration
just
approved
new
COVID
shots,
as
cases
of
the
virus
start
to
creep
up
across
the
country.
Pharmaceutical
companies


Moderna,


Pfizer

and


Novavax

all
announced
late
this
week
that
they
will
be
releasing
updated
vaccines
for
the
2026-2027
season.

Cases
of
COVID-19
are
increasing
in
most
states
after
a
relatively
quiet
summer,
according
to
data
from
the


Centers
for
Disease
Control
and
Prevention.
The
test
positivity
rate
for
the
week
ending
Aug.
15
is
currently
close
to
5%
—
the
highest
it’s
been
since
February,
per
CDC
numbers.

A
few
things
have
changed
about
the
vaccines
from
previous
seasons,
including
some
potential
logistical
complications.
Infectious
disease
doctors
break
it
down.

What
are
the
updated
COVID
shots?

The
FDA
has
approved
these
updated
COVID
shots:

• 
  Spikevax.
  Moderna’s
  mRNA
  vaccine
  is
  approved
  for
  people
  aged
  6
  months
  through
  64
  who
  have
  an
  underlying
  health
  condition,
  the
  company
  announced
  in
  a
  
  
  press
  release
  
  Thursday.
  Anyone
  aged
  65
  and
  up
  also
  qualifies.
• 
  mNexspike.
  Another
  mRNA
  vaccine
  from
  Moderna,
  mNexspike
  is
  a
  lower-dose
  option.
  It’s
  approved
  for
  people
  aged
  12
  through
  64
  with
  an
  underlying
  condition,
  as
  well
  as
  those
  aged
  65
  and
  older.
• 
  Comirnaty.
  Pfizer’s
  mRNA
  vaccine
  has
  been
  approved
  for
  all
  adults
  aged
  65
  and
  older,
  per
  a
  company
  
  
  press
  release.
  Anyone
  aged
  5
  through
  64
  with
  an
  underlying
  condition
  that
  raises
  their
  risk
  of
  severe
  illness
  also
  qualifies.
• 
  Nuvaxovid.
  Produced
  by
  drugmakers
  Novavax
  and
  Sanofi,
  this
  is
  the
  only
  protein-based
  COVID
  vaccine
  in
  the
  United
  States.
  “This
  is
  a
  traditional-style
  vaccine,
  like
  the
  flu
  vaccine,”
  said
  Dr.
  
  
  Thomas
  Russo,
  
  a
  professor
  and
  chief
  of
  infectious
  diseases
  at
  the
  University
  at
  Buffalo
  in
  New
  York.

What
has
changed
from
previous
years?

The
vaccines
are
similar
to
previous
seasons.
However,
they
have
a
different
target.

“Every
vaccine
this
cycle
targets
the
JN.1-lineage
XFG
variant,
the
same
way
flu
shots
get
re-targeted
every
year
based
on
what’s
circulating,”
said
Dr.


Amesh
A.
Adalja,

a
senior
scholar
at
the
Johns
Hopkins
Center
for
Health
Security.

What’s
different
from
many
previous
years
is
that
the
FDA
narrowed
eligibility
last
season
to
people
aged
65
and
older
or
with
a
high-risk
condition,
Adalja
explains.
“This
season’s
approvals
keep
that
line,”
he
said.

Who
is
eligible
to
get
the
shot?

This
gets
slightly
complicated.
The
FDA’s
recommendations
heavily
favor
older
adults,
along
with
those
who
have
underlying
health
conditions,
known
as
comorbidities,
that
make
them
more
likely
to
develop
severe
illness
from
COVID-19.

“There
remains
some
uncertainty
about
eligibility
if
you
don’t
fall
into
those
groups,
but
the
comorbidities
are
broad,”
Russo
said.
The


list

includes
things
like
pregnancy
and
chronic
lung
disease,
along
with
less
obvious
conditions
like
depression
and
obesity.

Still,
doctors
say
you
should
be
able
to
get
vaccinated
if
you
want
the
shot.
“Anyone
who
wants
a
COVID
vaccine
will
be
able
to
get
one,”
Russo
said.
Adalja
agreed.
“Vaccines
are
available
off-label
outside
the
label
indication,”
he
said.

When
and
where
can
you
get
the
updated
COVID
vaccine?

These
vaccines
are
typically
shipped
out
“immediately”
after
they
receive
FDA
approval,
Adalja
said.
“If
you’re
high-risk,
get
it
now
as
COVID
activity
is
increasing
nationally,”
he
explained.
(It’s
a
good
idea
to
contact
your
provider
in
advance
to
make
sure
they’re
giving
the
most
up-to-date
vaccine.)

But
there’s
some
uncertainty
about

where
you’ll
be
able
to
get
the
vaccine.
While
many
doctors’
offices
will
stock
it,
some
states
need
vaccines
to
be
signed
off
by
the
CDC
before
they
can
be
given
in
pharmacies
―
a
common
place
where
adults
get
vaccinated,
Russo
points
out.

It’s
unclear
if
the
CDC’s
Advisory
Committee
on
Immunization
Practices
(ACIP),
which
was


dismantled

by
Health
and
Human
Services
Secretary
Robert
F.
Kennedy
Jr.
in
2025
and
replaced
with

handpicked
appointees,
will
weigh
in
on
the
vaccines.

While
mRNA
vaccines
have
been
controversial
in
the
past,
doctors
stress
their
value.

“The
mRNA
platform’s
advantage
is
speed,”
Adalja
said.
“When
a
variant
like
this
season’s
XFG
becomes
dominant,
manufacturers
can
redesign
and
produce
a
matched
shot
in
weeks
rather
than
the
months
conventional
manufacturing
requires.”

The
benefits
of
getting
vaccinated
with
any
COVID
vaccine
vary
by
risk,
Russo
said.
“The
greatest
benefit
is
in
high-risk
groups,”
he
explained.
“But
for
individuals
that
don’t
fall
into
those
groups
and
are
healthy,
it
still
has
benefits.”
Among
other
things,
the
vaccine
lowers
the
risk
of
developing
severe
disease
and
long
COVID.

“I
still
recommend
that
everyone
gets
vaccinated,”
Russo
said.
Adalja
echoed
this.
“What
these
vaccines
were
built
to
do
—
and
what
trial
and
real-world
data
still
show
they
do
—
is
prevent
severe
disease,
hospitalization,
and
death,”
he
noted.