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FDA advisers considering updating COVID vaccine for new subvariant

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Published  May 27, 2026 12:49 PM EDT
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FILE - In this photo illustration, Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 (L) and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines fill their syringes at Borinquen Health Care Center on May 29, 2025 in Miami, Florida. (Photo illustration by Joe Raedle/ Getty Images)

The Brief

    • An FDA advisory panel is considering updating the 2026-2027 COVID vaccine.
    • The updated vaccine would target the XFG subvariant.
    • The CDC has previously said that subvariant is dominant in U.S. cases.

Advisers to the U.S. Food ‌and Drug Administration are discussing updates to the COVID vaccine to cover new variants, according to documents filed this week and obtained by Reuters. 

The subvariant in particular is XFG, NB.1.8.1, also known as the Stratus variant. 

XFG COVID variant

Big picture view:

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and ​Prevention data showed ​the XFG subvariant was ⁠estimated to account for a majority of cases in the United States over a four-week period up to April 11, Reuters reported. 

Coronavirus cases were reportedly on the rise in nine U.S. states last fall, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dig deeper:

The XFG strain isn’t as good at getting into cells, but it dodges immune defenses better, according to Stony Brook Medicine, the academic medical center of Stony Brook University in New York.

That means it might spread easily by avoiding detection, but it’s not as naturally infectious as other variants or likely to cause severe symptoms.

RELATED: Finding the sleep 'sweet spot' could help you live longer, study suggests

2026-2027 COVID vaccines

What's next:

Reuters is reporting the advisory panel will vote on the updated formula for the COVID shots later this week. 

RELATED: Trump's FDA commissioner, Dr. Marty Makary, to resign

Meanwhile:

Earlier this month, the head of the FDA, Dr. Marty Makary, resigned and Kyle Diamantas, the agency’s chief for foods, has taken over as acting commissioner. 

Diamantas is an attorney with personal ties to Donald Trump Jr., according to The Associated Press. 

The Source: Information in this article was taken from FDA advisory panel documents, as obtained and reported by Reuters. Background information was taken from The CDC, Stony Brook Medicine, the Associated Press and previous FOX Television Station reporting. This story was reported from Detroit.

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