FDA Approves Updated COVID Vaccine from Novavax

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced today, Tuesday, that it has authorized an updated version of the COVID-19 vaccine produced by Novavax for emergency use for individuals aged 12 and older. Last month, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approved the widespread use of updated competitive COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer in partnership with German company BioNTech, as well as from Moderna. A spokesperson for the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices stated that the committee will not meet again to discuss the approval of the Novavax vaccine. The spokesperson added, "The committee's recommendation last month, which was subsequently approved by the director of the CDC, included all updated COVID-19 vaccines licensed or authorized by the FDA, including those expected to be approved or authorized in the coming months." The three updated vaccines target the "XBB.1.5" subvariant of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. "XBB.1.5" has been dominant in the U.S. for most of this year, but new variants have since taken precedence.