Updated COVID-19 vaccines could be ready next week – KGAN TV

WASHINGTON, DC The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is set to approve the latest COVID-19 vaccines for the ongoing pandemic. CNN reports two sources familiar with the matter say approval could come before the end of next week.

The FDA will likely approve the updated mRNA vaccines from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna that target one of the latest strains of COVID-19 known as KP.2. Novavax's updated shot targets another strain known as JN.1.

If approved next week, it would come much earlier than last year, when updated vaccines were approved by the FDA on September 11.

The new vaccines come as a surge of COVID-19 cases have been reported in recent weeks across the country. Although detailed monitoring of cases is no longer conducted, an analysis of wastewater levels was found to be at its highest rate during the summer months since 2022.

ER visits, hospitalizations and deaths are also on the rise, with four times the rate of hospitalizations in July compared to May.

Pfizer and Moderna tell CNN they already have plenty of the updated vaccines ready to go once they receive approval, and will ship them out immediately following approval, and available in pharmacies and health care centers in a matter of days after approval.

The World Health Organization declared the Coronavirus Pandemic started in March of 2020 and has not yet ended, as cases continue to spread across every populated continent year-round, unlike more seasonsal epidemics like the flu.

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Updated COVID-19 vaccines could be ready next week - KGAN TV