The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the updated Covid-19 vaccines on Thursday, August 27. The approval from the FDA will allow manufacturers to begin shipping doses to pharmacies and doctors’ offices across the country.
Food and drug regulators have approved Moderna, Novavax-Sanofi and Pfizer-BioNTech’s updated Covid vaccines, the companies said on Thursday. Their statement comes after an advisory panel recommended that the shots should target the dominant XFG variant.
As per reports, all manufacturers earlier said that they could make the updated shot in time for the 2026-27 immunization season.
Updated COVID-19 vaccines approved for people above 65 years
The updated COVID-19 vaccines have been approved for individuals aged 65 and older and for younger individuals with underlying conditions that put them at greater risk of negative outcomes from a COVID infection, as per the reports.
Reports have also highlighted that for the updated COVID-19 vaccines for younger people with such conditions, the age approvals vary by manufacturer. The Moderna shot is approved for children older than six months, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for those age five and older, and Novavax-Sanofi for 12 and up.
The CDC recommends immunisations shots
Earlier in September, the Trump administration moved away from recommending Covid vaccines to everyone. This decision by the US Government prompted confusion over who was eligible to receive the vaccine shots.
However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now says it recommends the immunisations “based on individual-based decision-making”.
It’s unclear when, or whether, the administration will issue updated recommendations for the 2026-27 immunization season, as the CDC advisory panel has been in limbo since a March ruling blocking health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr’s appointment of a slate of vaccine advisors to the panel.
Will US insurance companies cover the updated COVID-19 vaccine shot?
The absence of a functioning CDC vaccine panel also raises questions over whether insurers will cover the updated shots. However, insurance companies are typically required to cover vaccines recommended by the panel, but it is unclear what insurers will do if there is no recommendation.
CDC dashboards show current Covid-19 activity level tracked via testing, and wastewater monitoring is low but rising in recent weeks.
US FDA approves updated Covid-19 vaccines for 2026-27 immunisation season
