(The Center Square) – The U.S. approved updated COVID-19 vaccines on Monday on an emergency basis.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration took action Monday to approve and authorize updated COVID-19 vaccines for emergency use. The agency approved updated mRNA vaccines for 2023-2024 made by ModernaTX Inc. and Pfizer Inc. The vaccines were “formulated to more closely target currently circulating variants and to provide better protection against serious consequences of COVID-19, including hospitalization and death,” according to the FDA.
“Vaccination remains critical to public health and continued protection against serious consequences of COVID-19, including hospitalization and death,” said Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. “The public can be assured that these updated vaccines have met the agency’s rigorous scientific standards for safety, effectiveness, and manufacturing quality.”
The updated mRNA vaccines were each approved for people 12 years of age and older and were authorized under emergency use for people 6 months through 11 years of age.
The FDA said the bivalent Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines were no longer authorized for use in the United States.
