At an all-day meeting yesterday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) expert committee on vaccines voted to make all COVID-19 vaccines—whether primary vaccinations or booster doses—target the same viral strains. Currently, the approved mRNA vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech are made with the SARS-CoV-2 virus that first emerged in 2019, while the booster dose, authorized by the FDA in September, contains a mix of that initial virus and the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron strains.

By harmonizing the shots, the committee hopes to improve vaccination rates overall—but especially for the booster, which hasn’t been widely embraced by the public. The decision should also simplify the currently confusing schedule of doses and vaccines, which vary depending on a person’s age. Here are the other highlights from the meeting:

• The experts’ next task is to discuss and recommend how often people should be immunized for COVID-19. The FDA proposed a yearly shot similar to the flu-shot schedule for most people, and more frequent vaccinations for high-risk groups such as older people and those with weakened immune systems.
• The FDA also has to outline a process for selecting which virus strain should be included in the shot, however frequently it’s given. The agency suggested selecting the strain in June, which would give vaccine makers enough time to develop, test, and get their vaccines approved in time to distribute in September.
• More details on revising the COVID-19 immunizations will be hashed out in another meeting the committee will hold in June.

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