US adds another option for fall COVID vaccination with updated Novavax shots

U.S. regulators on Tuesday authorized another option for fall COVID-19 vaccination, updated shots made by Novavax.

Updated vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna began rolling out last month, intended for adults and children as young as age 6 months. Now the Food and Drug Administration has added another choice –- reformulated Novavax shots open to anyone age 12 and older.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention already has urged most Americans to get a fall COVID-19 vaccination, shots tweaked to protect against a newer coronavirus strain. Novavax said shots will be available “in the coming days.”

Protection against COVID-19, whether from vaccination or from an earlier infection, wanes over time. There’s already been a late-summer increase in infections, and health officials hope enough people get the new shots to blunt a winter wave.