Washington DC - The US Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved updated Covid-19 vaccinations, allowing manufacturers to begin distributing doses across the US – but with one big caveat!
The FDA approved updated Covid-19 shots from Moderna, Novavax-Sanofi and Pfizer-BioNTech after a vaccine advisory recommended them as a way to target the currently-dominant XFG variant.
All three manufacturers confirmed that manufacturing is on schedule to meet the 2026–2027 immunization season.
There was one catch, though, a caveat brought on by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the FDA last year.
While the vaccinations have been approved for manufacturing and distribution, they have only been approved for people over 65-years-old and those with underlying health conditions that put them at higher risk from Covid-19.
This decision was made by the Trump administration last autumn, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommending the Covid-19 shots "based on individual-based decision making."
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommended in September that the CDC more strongly warn of the risks of Covid-19 vaccinations and said shots should be administered on a person-by-person basis.
Only months earlier, RFK Jr. had stripped ACIP of its 17 members and replaced them with loyalists, some of whom were known vaccine skeptics.
These decisions not only draw into question who can receive what shot, but also whether health insurance companies will cover them.
While they are generally required to cover vaccinations recommended by ACIP, the panel has not issued a specific recommendation for these updated shots.