UPDATE

CDC endorses updated COVID boosters, shots to begin soon

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has endorsed updated COIVD-19 boosters. The decision opens the way for a fall vaccination campaign that could blunt a winter surge if enough Americans roll up their sleeves. The new boosters targeting today’s most common omicron strains should begin arriving in pharmacies and clinics within days. The decision by CDC Director Rochelle Walensky came shortly after the agency’s advisers voted in favor of the recommendation. The shots made by Pfizer and rival Moderna offer the most up-to-date protection at yet another critical period in the pandemic.

Previously

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. regulators have authorized updated COVID-19 boosters, the first to directly target today’s most common omicron strain. The move on Wednesday by the Food and Drug Administration tweaks the recipe of shots made by Pfizer and rival Moderna that already have saved millions of lives. The hope is that the modified boosters will blunt yet another winter surge. Until now, COVID-19 vaccines given in the U.S. have targeted the original coronavirus. The new boosters are half that original recipe and half protection against the newest, super-contagious omicron versions.