The new generation of vaccines targets both the original strain of covid-19 and the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants of ómicron.
Therefore, they should “provide greater protection against the currently circulating omicron variant,” the FDA said in a statement.
Last June, the US Department of Health announced that it had bought 105 million doses from Pfizer and 66 million from Moderna for use during the fall and winter.
Vaccines have not yet been recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the main US public health agency.
The CDC convened a committee of independent experts to discuss the issue on Thursday.
After carrying out these consultations, the director of the agency, Rochelle Walensky, will be in charge of giving it the definitive green light.
Pfizer and Moderna have also submitted an authorization application for this updated version of their vaccine to the European Medicines Agency (EMA).