Here is some information on the tweaks for next fall’s new covid 19 vaccine based on the latest variants. That is the advantage of this technology. It is quicker to make updates versus the flu vaccine the strains of which were chosen months ago to be ready for the fall.
There is a surge expected for this summer again. If you are traveling this summer, especially if you are going abroad, it may be reasonable to get the present vaccine two weeks before travel.
Here is what the American College of Physicians, of which I am a fellow, advises about Covid 19 vaccines. This is important since The Center for Disease Control’s advice is suspect these days.
ACP Says Adults at Increased Risk Should Get an mRNA-Based COVID-19 Vaccine
The updated 2025-2026 mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine can protect older adults and others at increased risk from serious illness, hospitalization, or deathÂ
PHILADELPHIA, February 24, 2026—The American College of Physicians (ACP) issued updated COVID-19 vaccine practice points for physicians that say adults over age 65 and those aged 18-64 at increased risk for COVID-19 should receive the updated 2025-2026 mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine. ACP also suggests that those aged 18-64 who are not at increased risk for COVID-19 may consider receiving the vaccine. ACP did not examine evidence or make recommendations for pregnant women or immunocompromised adults. “COVID-19 Vaccines for 2025-2026 in Adults Who Are Not Pregnant or Immunocompromised: Rapid Practice Points from the American College of Physicians” is published in Annals of Internal Medicine.
COVID-19 remains an important population health problem, with more than 20 million cases in the US from October 2024-September 2025 resulting in over 500,000 hospitalizations and 60,000 deaths. Adults aged 65 years and older, adults 18-64 with comorbidities – such as asthma, cancer, cardiovascular disease, or lung diseases – and current or former smokers are at greater risk for severe COVID-19. ACP encourages these individuals at increased risk, which account for over 90% of COVID-related hospitalizations, to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Despite these data, only 17% of adults reported receiving a 2025-2026 COVID-19 vaccine as of January 24, 2026.
ACP’s practice points are based on a rapid review of recent evidence on COVID-19 vaccines. The studies in the review included patients at varying risk for severe COVID-19 and varying personal history of COVID-19 infection and vaccination status. Evidence from the rapid review and epidemiological data showed an association between adults aged 18 or over who received an Omicron adapted mRNA-based vaccine and a reduction in the risk for all-cause mortality and COVID-related hospitalizations compared with those who did not receive the vaccine. The data demonstrated that adults aged 65 or older and those aged 18-64 at increased risk for severe COVID-19 are at highest risk for hospitalization and death. It also showed that incidence of myocarditis resulting from the mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine is low, most commonly affecting males aged 12-24 years.
“Evidence clearly shows that the 2025–2026 COVID‑19 vaccine significantly reduces the risk of severe illness, hospitalization, and death,” said Jason M. Goldman, MD, MACP, President of ACP. “We strongly urge individuals at higher risk for COVID‑19 complications to receive the vaccine, and we encourage physicians to carefully assess and address the risk factors that make their patients more vulnerable to severe disease.”
As of May 8, XFG and its descendants accounted for more than half of new infections in the U.S.Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images file
A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel on Thursday recommended updating this fall’s Covid shots to target the XFG variant, a fast-growing strain nicknamed “stratus.”
The recommendation — from the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee — is meant to help vaccine makers prepare shots for the fall and winter, when Covid infections typically rise.
Thursday’s meeting was the agency’s first since FDA Commissioner Marty Makary resigned. (His resignation did not play a role; the meeting was already on the calendar before he resigned.) Makary drew criticism last year after the agency imposed stricter requirements on who could get Covid shots.
According to wastewaterSCAN data, Covid activity is at a “medium” level across most of the United States. But newer variants continue to evolve in ways that may help them evade immunity from prior infection or vaccination.
Covid was generally less severe last season, with hospitalizations dropping below the levels of the last three years, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data presented Thursday. The highest hospitalization rates were among babies less than 6 months and adults over the age of 65.
XFG is a hybrid of two omicron variants and carries mutations that could help it partially dodge antibodies, Natalie Thornburg, who leads the CDC’s respiratory division, told the panel Thursday.
As of May 8, XFG and its descendants account for more than half of new infections in the U.S., according to CDC data. XFG.1.1 is currently the dominant strain of the virus, accounting for about 1 in 4 infections.
Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, said XFG and its descendants do not appear to cause more severe illness than earlier strains, although researchers are still studying whether the variants spread more easily.
They also appear to cause similar symptoms to earlier strains, he said, including sore throat, cough, headache, body aches, fever and chills.
During Thursday’s meeting, Moderna and Sanofi presented data in mice that suggested vaccines targeting XFG produced higher antibody levels against several circulating strains than the current LP.8.1 formulation in Pfizer’s and Moderna’s vaccines. (Sanofi now markets the Novavax shot, which currently vaccine targets a different variant, called JN.1.) Pfizer presented data showing an XFG vaccine and the current formulation produced similar antibody levels.
In Thursday’s vote, only one committee member abstained: Dr. Hana El Sahly, a professor of molecular virology and microbiology and infectious diseases at Baylor College of Medicine, said data on the effectiveness of an XFG vaccine showed it wasn’t overwhelmingly better than the current formulations.
All other members voted in favor of the recommendation.
The committee’s recommendation is not the final determination. The decision now goes to the FDA, which is expected to give the vaccine makers the go-ahead to begin producing doses for the fall and winter. It’s unclear who would sign off on the shots because the FDA has neither a permanent vaccine chief nor commissioner. Following Makary’s resignation, Kyle Diamantas, the agency’s top food regulator, was named acting commissioner.
Earlier this month, the World Health Organization recommended vaccine makers target the LP.8.1 strain or other closely related circulating variants, including XFG.
