TAMPA — The FDA’s vaccine advisory committee is expected to meet Tuesday.
This meeting was originally supposed to happen last month to make recommendations for the fall COVID-19 booster shot.
It was postponed due to the emergence of the new FLiRT variants.
“It’s another spin-off of omicron. It has a couple of new mutations in the spike proteins that gave it that nice name,” said Dr. Jill Roberts, Associate Professor for the USF College of Public Health.
KP.2 and KP.3 are part of the FLiRT variants. According to the latest CDC data, these strains are taking over cases in the United States right now, making up 28.5% and 12.7% of new cases, respectively.
The FDA needed more time to monitor these variants to determine whether they should be in the vaccine formula for the new booster.
Federal health officials try to predict which strains will be circulating during the winter respiratory season so vaccines are as effective as possible.
According to FDA documents, the evolution of COVID-19 continues to be complex and unpredictable. A previous vaccine and infection may not provide enough protection against currently circulating mutations.
“There’s a study that says that maybe our vaccines may not provide as great of immunity against it because it’s slightly different than what we’re vaccinating against. All those things are to be expected as variants continue to change,” said Roberts.
At Tuesday’s meeting, advisors will discuss all of the data and make recommendations for the fall formula.
Moderna, Pfizer, and Novavax are all expected topresent their findings.
The meeting begins at 8:30 a.m. The voting process is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m.
