US experts wrestle with how to update COVID-19 vaccines

By MATTHEW PERRONE
AP Health Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vaccine experts are grappling with how to formulate a U.S. strategy for future COVID-19 booster campaigns. A panel of federal advisers to the Food and Drug Administration spent hours Wednesday debating key questions about updating the vaccines. They didn’t reach any firm conclusions. FDA regulators cautioned that waning vaccine effectiveness, new viral mutations and colder weather could lead to surges in the fall and winter. The FDA experts agreed that boosting Americans every few months was not sustainable and COVID-19 shots should only be reviewed if a new strain lowers their ability to prevent hospitalization and death.