(Reuters) -The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Thursday it has approved updated COVID-19 vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna targeting newer variants of the disease in time for a fall vaccination campaign.
The health regulator approved the shots to target the “KP.2” variant, which dominated infections in recent months. The agency had asked manufacturers in June to target the strain, if feasible.
The updated vaccines are designed to more closely target currently circulating variants and provide better protection against serious consequences of COVID-19, including hospitalization and death, the FDA said.
“Vaccination continues to be the cornerstone of COVID-19 prevention,” said Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.
Pfizer and Moderna said they expect the shots to be available across the United States in the coming days.
The FDA granted emergency use authorization for Moderna’s shot, branded as Spikevax, and Comirnaty, which is jointly developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, in individuals six months through 11 years of age.
Vaccines based on messenger RNA from Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech can be developed more quickly.
The FDA did not approve a more traditional protein-based shot made by Novavax.
Novavax said on Thursday it was working with the FDA and expects to have authorization in time for peak vaccination season.
The FDA did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
(Reporting by Manas Mishra and Mariam Sunny in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)