Covid shots should target newer strains of JN.1 variant in 2025-26 campaign, US FDA advisers say
A view shows the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland on Aug 14, 2012.
PHOTO: Reuters file
PUBLISHED ONMay 23, 2025 2:46 AM
US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisers unanimously recommended on Thursday (May 22) that Covid-19 vaccines for the 2025 to 2026 period should target newer strains of the JN.1 variant.
According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, the LP.8.1 strain — a subvariant of the previously recommended JN.1 strain — accounted for 70 per cent of total cases in the United States over a two-week period ended May 10.
While the LP.8.1 is the predominant circulating strain, other virus subvariants, including LF.7 and XFG, have also been increasingly detected in recent weeks, FDA documents showed earlier this week.
The FDA panel's recommendation aligns with the European Medicines Agency's panel, which recently advised updating Covid vaccines to target the LP.8.1 strain.
Meanwhile, a team of experts from the World Health Organisation has also declared vaccines targeting the LP.8.1 strain as a "suitable alternative" to the current ones.
Source: Reuters