FDA Approves Updated COVID Vaccines With Narrowed Recommendations
The U.S. Food and Drug Management (FDA) has approved updated COVID vaccines for this fall, but with new restrictions that are expected to limit access, especially for young children.
Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made the announcement via the social media platform X saying “FDA has now issued marketing authorization for those at higher risk …. These vaccines are available for all patients who choose them after consulting with their doctors.”
The new 2025-2026 vaccines should be highly protective against recently dominant COVID variants, according to manufacturers.
The FDA Has Narrowed Its Vaccine Recommendations
As part of the new policy,the FDA revoked its emergency use authorizations,which made COVID vaccines available to nearly all Americans ages 6 months and older during the pandemic.
The FDA now restricts updated COVID shots to adults 65 and older as well as people younger than 65 who have at least one underlying medical condition that makes them more susceptible to severe illness.
For people under 65 with these underlying medical conditions, each vaccine brand is approved for a different age range:
Pfizer-biontech (Comirnaty) for ages 5 through 64 years
Moderna (Spikevax) for ages 6 months through 64 years
Novavax (Nuvaxovid) for ages 12 months through 64 years
Who Is Considered High Risk for Severe COVID-19?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that older americans are at highest risk of getting very sick from COVID-19. More than 81 percent of COVID-19 deaths occur in people over age 65.
Other conditions and behaviors that increase the risk of severe COVID-19 include but are not limited to:
Cancer
Chronic kidney disease
Chronic liver disease
Chronic lung disease
Cystic fibrosis
Dementia
Diabetesia.