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Coronavirus: US FDA approves updated Covid-19 vaccines to increase protection this autumn

  • The FDA decision opens the newest vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer and its partner BioNTech to most Americans
  • The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention are set to issue recommendations on Tuesday on who most needs the updated vaccinations

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The Moderna Covid-19 vaccine. The US on Monday approved updated Covid-19 vaccines. Photo: AFP
Associated Press

The US approved updated Covid-19 vaccines on Monday, hoping to rev up protection against the latest coronavirus strains and halt any surge this autumn and winter.

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The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) decision opens the newest vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer and its partner BioNTech to most Americans even if they have never had a coronavirus vaccination. It is part of a shift to treat autumn updates of the Covid-19 vaccine much like getting a yearly flu vaccination.

There is still another step: the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) must sign off. A CDC advisory panel is set to issue recommendations on Tuesday on who most needs the updated shots. Vaccinations could begin later this week, and both the Covid-19 and flu vaccine can be given at the same visit.

Covid-19 hospitalisations have been rising since late summer although – thanks to some lasting immunity from prior vaccinations and infections – not nearly as much as this time last year.

But protection wanes over time and the coronavirus continually churns out new variants that can dodge prior immunity. It has been a year since the last time the vaccines were tweaked.

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