A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel will decide on Tuesday whether current COVID-19 vaccines will need an updated formula.
The panel will listen to presentations from Pfizer and Moderna on how their updated vaccines provide better protection against the omicron variant of the virus.
Both companies have said in recent weeks that testing shows that their updated vaccines are more effective at preventing COVID-19 infections than their prototype vaccines. The FDA noted that new variants of the virus could develop rapidly, and with each new variant, protection from previous vaccines is less robust.
The FDA notes that while the original vaccine doesn’t offer as much protection against low-level infections, it remains effective at stopping severe COVID-19 illness.
Pfizer and Moderna both said a decision is needed now for them to start administering shots by October.
