News|Articles|September 10, 2026

FAQ: What You Need to Know About 2026-2027 COVID-19 Vaccines

FDA approved updated 2026-2027 COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Novavax's partners, all reformulated to target the XFG variant, giving clinicians several options ahead of the fall respiratory virus season.

The FDA approved multiple updated COVID-19 vaccine formulations for the 2026-2027 season in late August 2026, each engineered to protect against the currently circulating XFG variant or its JN.1-lineage subvariants.^1-3 The approvals cover Pfizer and BioNTech's Comirnaty XFG, Moderna's Spikevax and mNEXSPIKE, and Novavax's partner-commercialized Nuvaxovid, spanning both mRNA and protein-based vaccine platforms.^1-3 The clearances give clinicians several options ahead of the fall respiratory virus season, with indications concentrated among older adults and individuals with underlying conditions that place them at high risk for severe outcomes.^1-3 FDA selected the XFG composition after identifying it as the preferred vaccine match for currently circulating SARS-CoV-2 strains in the United States, and shipping of the updated products was already underway or expected within days of approval.^1-3

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