With COVID-19 cases resurging and the world entering its fourth year of grappling with this highly contagious disease, the initial batch of updated vaccines for the upcoming fall season is anticipated to be ready by the end of September.
Moderna, Pfizer, and Novavax plan to release updated vaccines this fall, potentially making them accessible for most ages.
However, they must wait for the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to authorize or approve the updated COVID-19 vaccines.
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The new vaccines are aimed at protecting against the XBB variants, which are strains descended from the original Omicron variant.
According to drugmakers Pfizer and Moderna, they could be the first to get the FDA's approval.
"What we expect is that we will have approval by the end of August. And we are ready with products already now," Pfizer's CEO Albert Bourla said last week.
Moderna filed for authorization of its updated vaccine on June 22.
Novavax's President of Research and Development, Filip Dubovsky, said on Tuesday that they are still working on their submission for a new emergency use authorization for the updated vaccine and expect to deliver the product for authorization "by the end of September."
According to the CDC, about 81% of the U.S. population has had at least one dose of the vaccine, 69.5% have completed the primary series, and only around 17% have received a dose of the updated booster from last fall.
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