On Friday, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommended that vaccine manufacturers working on COVID-19 vaccine updates create monovalent shots targeting the XBB.1.5 subvariant. Monovalent, or single-target vaccinations, would constitute a departure from the most recent bivalent COVID boosters, which targeted both the original and Omicron strains of the coronavirus.

The advice by the FDA came after its panel of experts unanimously recommended that the updated COVID shots be developed for a fall vaccination campaign targeting one of the currently dominant XBB coronavirus variants.

The manufacturers of COVID vaccines, namely Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, and Novavax, are currently developing new versions of their vaccines to target XBB.1.5 and other subvariants currently in circulation.

Also, Novavax announced that their XBB.1.5 COVID vaccine candidate is currently in production at a commercial level. The vaccine maker noted that they intend to release the new vaccine during the fall campaign.

(Source:https://health.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/pharma/policy-regulations/us-fda-advises-covid-vaccine-makers-to-develop-shots-aimed-at-xbb-1-5-variant/101062180 )