Published on
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved 4 updated 2026–2027 COVID-19 vaccines for the upcoming respiratory virus season. All of the new formulations have been updated for XFG variant, according to FDA, and all follow the somewhat tighter age and risk restrictions that were introduced in 2025. Prior to the 2024–2025 season, vaccination was broadly recommended for everyone aged 6 months and older. Now, a healthy 50-year-old with no underlying risk factor, for example, does not fall within the FDA-approved indication for these vaccines.
- Pfizer-BioNTech (Comirnaty): mRNA vaccine for those aged 65 years and older and those aged 5–64 with at least 1 high-risk condition
- Moderna (Spikevax): mRNA vaccine for those aged 65 years and older and those aged 6 months–64 years with at least 1 high-risk condition
- Moderna (mNexspike): the manufacturer’s newer mRNA vaccine for those aged 65 years and older and those aged 12–64 years with at least 1 high-risk condition
- Sanofi/Novavax (Nuvaxovid): Protein + adjuvant vaccine for those aged 65 years and older and those aged 12–64 years with at least 1 high-risk condition
Summer surge: In the meantime, COVID-19 activity is rising in the United States as of August 22, 2026, according to reports from the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention, with positivity rates reaching 4.6%. But the overall burden of serious COVID-19-related illness remains low. At this same time last year, positivity rates reached 12% in a late summer surge that far surpassed the peak recorded in the subsequent winter months. The pattern from last year has public health observers now wondering if a back-to-school COVID peak might be forthcoming in the weeks ahead.