A Food and Drug Administration expert panel voted Wednesday to manufacture new COVID-19 vaccines to specifically target the JN.1 variant lineage—which makes up the most dominant strains circulating in the U.S.
KEY FACTS
The FDA’s independent Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee voted unanimously Wednesday to create new COVID-19 vaccines that target the JN.1 variant and its sublineage.
The agency is expected to make a final decision on the new vaccine in the coming days.
Pfizer, Novax and Moderna each said their updated vaccines will be available this fall ahead of 2024-2025 flu season.
Evidence was presented during the meeting showing the JN.1 vaccines offered greater protection against the dominant FLiRT variants than the now-available XBB.1.5 vaccine.
FLiRT variants are subvariants of JN.1 that begin with either KP or JN with the same set of mutations they have each independently picked up, and they make up over 90% of all COVID-19 cases in the U.S. as of May 25, according to data from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Dr. Peter Marks, the director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research for the FDA, noted although there were some side effects like myocarditis, the new vaccines are safe and effective at protecting against the coronavirus.
The panel also discussed whether it should recommend the vaccines target a specific JN.1 variant—like JP.2 or JP.3—but most expressed a preference for an all-encompassing JN.1 vaccine, since it was adequate in protecting against all its subvariants.