Updated COVID-19 vaccines have been approved by the FDA

WASHINGTON – US regulators have given their approval updated Covid-19 vaccines on Thursday shots designed to more accurately target recent virus strains — and hopefully whatever variants cause problems this winter.

Now that the Food and Drug Administration has cleared it, Pfizer and Moderna will begin shipping millions of doses. A third US manufacturer, Novavax, expects the updated vaccine version to be available a little later.

“We strongly encourage those eligible to consider receiving an updated COVID-19 vaccine to provide better protection against currently circulating variants,” said Peter Marks, the FDA’s chief vaccine officer.

The agency’s decision came slightly ahead of last year’s rollout of updated Covid-19 vaccines summer wave of the virus continues in most of the country. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has already recommended this fall’s shot for everyone 6 months and older. Vaccinations could be available within days.

Although most Americans have some degree of immunity from previous infections or vaccinations or both, that protection is waning. The photos from last fall focused on a different part of the coronavirus family tree, one that is no longer circulating — and CDC data shows only about 22.5% of adults and 14% of children have received it.

Skipping the new shot is “a dangerous course of action” because even if your last infection was mild, your next one could be worse or give you long-lasting Covid symptoms, says Robert Hopkins Jr. from the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.

This autumn’s vaccine recipe is tailored to this a newer branch of omicron descendants. The shots from Pfizer and Moderna target a subtype called KP.2 that was common earlier this year. Although new offshoots, particularly KP.3.1.1, are now spreading, they are so closely related that the vaccines promise cross-protection. A Pfizer spokesperson said the company has provided data to the FDA showing the updated vaccine “generates a significantly improved response” against multiple virus subtypes compared to last fall’s vaccine.

The big question: how quickly should you be vaccinated? This summer’s Covid-19 wave isn’t over yet, but the inevitable winter peaks are often worse. And while Covid-19 vaccines do a good job of preventing serious illness, hospitalizations and death, protection against mild infections lasts only a few months.

People who are at high risk for the virus should not wait but instead schedule vaccinations as soon as vaccinations become available in their area, Hopkins advised.

This includes the elderly, people with a weak immune system or other serious medical problems, nursing home residents and pregnant people.

Healthy younger adults and children “can get vaccinated at any time. I don’t think there’s any real reason to wait,” Hopkins said — though it’s fine to look for the shots in the fall, when enough doses will have arrived at pharmacies and doctors’ offices.

The exception: The CDC says anyone who has recently had Covid-19 can wait three months after recovery before getting vaccinated, until immunity against that infection begins to wane.

Hopkins, who treats patients at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, called it critical that more young people get vaccinated this year — especially as school starts because coronavirus levels are high across the country.

“COVID doesn’t kill many children, thankfully, but it kills many more children than the flu,” Hopkins said, adding that teachers also need to get up to speed on the vaccine.

Health authorities say it’s fine to get a Covid-19 and flu vaccination at the same time, a convenience so people don’t have to make two trips. But while many drugstores are already advertising flu shots, the best time for that vaccination is usually between late September and October, just before the flu typically begins its cold-weather climb.