a fast-tracked approach. CDC’s director Dr. Rochelle Walensky must give the final sign-off before the shots are available.In June, the FDA ordered vaccine makers to tweak their shots to target BA.4 and BA.5, becoming the so-called "combo shot."FILE - Medical staff at Howard University give COVID-19 Vaccination doses for Hospital Staff Members on Dec.
15, 2020 in Washington, DC. Currently, the BA.5 strain is causing nearly all COVID-19 infections in the U.S. and much of the world.
Authorities are taking a gamble that the strain, or something similar, will still be the biggest threat in the coming months and, to get ahead of another mutation possibly transpiring, have fast-tracked approval of a targeted booster.
Current COVID-19 vaccines match the strain that circulated in early 2020. And while those vaccinations still offer strong protection against serious illness or death, there’s little effectiveness against infection from the wildly mutated omicron family.