As Covid-19 cases surge across the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved updated vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech. The vaccines are expected to be available in pharmacies and clinics soon, according to both companies.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended in June that everyone over 6 months old receive the updated Covid-19 vaccine, along with a flu shot this year.
Wastewater data shows that levels of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes Covid-19, are at “very high” levels nationally, marking the highest summer peak since July 2022, according to the CDC. As traditional virus monitoring has decreased, wastewater data offers a clearer picture of the virus's spread. Although hospitalization and death rates are rising, they remain well below previous years' levels.
Currently, the KP.3.1.1 strain accounts for 37% of recent cases, triple its prevalence from a month ago. The updated mRNA vaccines are said to target the closely related KP.2 strain, both of which are offshoots of the JN.1 strain, targeted by Novavax’s vaccine. All of these strains are variations of the Omicron variant.
