FDA advisers to weigh updating next COVID vaccines for XFG subvariant
FDA advisers will decide whether fall shots should chase XFG, now the dominant U.S. strain in a recent four-week stretch. The vote will shape what manufacturers can ship for 2026-27.
A key FDA vaccine panel will decide whether next season’s COVID shots should be aimed at XFG, the subvariant that accounted for a majority of U.S. cases in a recent four-week stretch ending April 11. The decision, set for the agency’s open meeting on May 28, will shape which formula manufacturers produce for the 2026-2027 vaccination campaign and how quickly Americans can get doses matched to the strain most in circulation.
That matters because the virus keeps moving faster than the manufacturing calendar. The JN.1 family still serves as the base for circulating strains, but newer subvariants such as NB.1.8.1 and XFG have gained ground since last year. FDA advisers will weigh whether the next formula should target XFG or another current variant, trying to balance the strain that is most common now against the time it takes to design and scale production for fall.
Only three COVID vaccines are authorized in the United States: Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech’s mRNA shots and Novavax’s protein-based vaccine. That production lineup gives the FDA’s recommendation outsized influence, because a strain choice can steer the entire market for the season ahead. Novavax’s shot takes longer to manufacture, making the timetable even tighter if the agency leans toward a different target.
The panel’s vote will also sit inside a more fragmented policy environment than the one that existed during the height of the pandemic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now recommends the 2025-2026 COVID vaccine for people ages 6 months and older through individual-based decision-making, while adults 65 and older are specifically recommended for vaccination under that framework. The shift means the next formulation decision will affect not only manufacturers, but also clinicians and older adults deciding whether to get boosted before respiratory virus season.
The World Health Organization has already moved in a similar direction. In December 2025, its Technical Advisory Group on COVID-19 Vaccine Composition recommended monovalent LP.8.1 as the vaccine antigen, and when it reconvened on May 7-8, 2026, it continued to point manufacturers toward LP.8.1 or similarly circulating strains. WHO designated XFG a variant under monitoring in June 2025 and said the global public-health risk was low, while current approved vaccines were expected to remain effective against symptomatic and severe disease.
FDA leadership has also tightened its posture on vaccine evaluation, pushing for larger placebo-controlled trials in the 50-to-64 age group for some recommendations. That approach signals a more demanding evidence standard even as the agency prepares to choose the strain that will define the next round of fall shots.
This article was produced by Prism’s automated news system from verified source data, official records, and press releases, then run through automated quality and moderation checks before publishing. The system is built and supervised by the people who set the standards it runs under. Read our full AI policy.
Did this article answer your question?
