The FDA says the covid vaccines will likely receive an annual update, but most people will only need one dose

The Food and Drug Administration has prepared a plan for future vaccination against Covid-19.

In a document released Monday, the FDA said the vaccines will likely need an annual update as the virus continues to evolve. The agency would select a Covid strain for the vaccine in the spring so that updated shots could be released each September in time for the fall vaccination campaign.

Most people would receive one vaccination to restore their protection against the virus in the future, according to the information document. This would apply to people who have been exposed to the viral cone protein at least twice, either through vaccination or infection.

But older adults and people with weakened immune systems may need two doses according to the suggested vaccination schedule. Young children who previously received only one dose would also receive two doses.

The FDA announced the plan ahead of a meeting of the agency’s independent vaccine experts on Thursday. An expert panel will vote on whether to make all covid vaccines in the US bivalent, meaning they protect against both the omicron BA.5 sub-variant and the original covid strain discovered in Wuhan, China in late 2019.

Currently, only Moderna and Pfizer’s booster doses target the omicron version. If accepted, the primary series would also contain the omicron strain.

The proposed system for updating covid vaccines is similar to how the FDA selects flu vaccines each year. The agency said it could update and roll out covid vaccines without clinical data, which also applies to the annual flu vaccine change process.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday is also expected to provide more information about the investigation into what he described as a “highly unlikely” risk of stroke in elderly people given Pfizer’s omicron booster.

The CDC received preliminary safety data from the Vaccine Safety Data Link late last year. A subsequent review of four other major databases found no increased risk of stroke, but the CDC’s investigation is ongoing.