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Four new COVID-19 vaccines have been approved for distribution in the U.S. for 2026-27, the federal Food and Drug Administration just announced.
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On Aug. 27, the FDA issued letters to Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech and Novavax-Sanofi authorizing new formulations of their vaccines. Moderna received approval for two new vaccines.
The vaccines are designed to better combat the variants that are currently circulating in the United States, a May release by a panel reviewing the proposed changes said.
But the new vaccines come with some restrictions on who can receive them.
Here’s what you need to know:
What are the new COVID-19 vaccines?
The FDA approved new versions of two Moderna vaccines, Spikevax and mNEXSPIKE, the Pfizer vaccine Comirnaty and Novavax-Sanofi’s Nuvaxovid vaccine.
The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines use mRNA technology, while the Novavax-Sanofi vaccine uses a protein-based technology.
Why are new COVID-19 vaccines necessary?
As with annual flu shots, updated versions of the COVID-19 vaccine are needed to combat variants of the virus introduced by mutations, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
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Who can receive the new COVID-19 vaccines?
The CDC has not yet issued instructions for the rollout of the new vaccines, but Forbes reported they will be limited to adults over 65 years of age and younger people with at least one underlying condition exposing them to greater risk from COVID-19.
In addition to anyone over 65, Spikevax is approved for people ages 6 months to 64, Comirnaty for those ages 5 to 64, and mNEXSPIKE and Nuvaxovid are approved for people ages 12 to 64, all with qualifying risk factors.
The CDC has a list of risk factors for COVID-19.
Are the new COVID-19 vaccines available?
Walgreens said the new vaccines will be available in their pharmacies shortly. CVS said the updated vaccines will be available, but timing will vary based on location. A quick check on the CVS scheduler on Tuesday, Sept. 1, confirmed this was the case and appointments to receive the vaccine were not yet available.
An inquiry on the Kaiser Permanente patient portal indicated that there was a limited supply left of the 2025-2026 COVID vaccine since that particular vaccine is no longer being produced. Kaiser’s site also said the 2026-2027 COVID vaccine will be available in the fall, but did not offer a specific date.
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