{"id":2686,"date":"2026-05-27T17:31:53","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T17:31:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=2686"},"modified":"2026-05-27T17:31:53","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T17:31:53","slug":"fda-advisers-considering-updating-covid-vaccine-for-new-subvariant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=2686","title":{"rendered":"FDA advisers considering updating COVID vaccine for new subvariant"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"\"<\/figure>\n article<\/span><\/div>

FILE – In this photo illustration, Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 (L) and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines fill their syringes at Borinquen Health Care Center on May 29, 2025 in Miami, Florida. (Photo illustration by Joe Raedle\/ Getty Images)<\/span> <\/p>

Read more \u2018Emily in Paris\u2019 actor Pierre Deny dies at 69: Reports<\/a><\/p> <\/div><\/div> <\/div>

Advisers to the U.S. Food \u200cand Drug Administration are discussing updates to the COVID vaccine to cover new variants, according to documents filed this week and obtained by Reuters.\u00a0<\/p>

The subvariant in particular is XFG, NB.1.8.1, also known as the Stratus variant.\u00a0<\/p>

XFG COVID variant<\/h2>
<\/div>

Big picture view:<\/p>

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and \u200bPrevention data showed \u200bthe XFG subvariant was \u2060estimated to account for a majority of cases in the United States over a four-week period up to April 11, Reuters reported.\u00a0<\/p>

Coronavirus cases were reportedly\u00a0on the rise<\/u> in nine U.S. states last fall, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.<\/p>

Dig deeper:<\/p>

The XFG strain isn\u2019t as good at getting into cells, but it dodges immune defenses better,\u00a0according to Stony Brook Medicine<\/u>, the academic medical center of Stony Brook University in New York.<\/p>

Read more Beaumont police searching for 17-year-old after toddler sibling accidentally shot<\/a><\/p>

That means it might spread easily by avoiding detection, but it\u2019s not as naturally infectious as other variants or likely to cause severe symptoms.<\/p>

RELATED:\u00a0<\/strong>Finding the sleep ‘sweet spot’ could help you live longer, study suggests<\/u><\/strong><\/p>

2026-2027 COVID vaccines<\/h2>

What’s next:<\/p>

Reuters is reporting the advisory panel will vote on the updated formula for the COVID shots later this week.\u00a0<\/p>

RELATED: <\/strong>Trump’s FDA commissioner, Dr. Marty Makary, to resign<\/strong><\/p>

Meanwhile:<\/p>

Earlier this month, the head of the FDA, Dr. Marty Makary, resigned and Kyle Diamantas, the agency\u2019s chief for foods, has taken over as acting commissioner.\u00a0<\/p>

Diamantas is an attorney with personal ties to Donald Trump Jr., according to The Associated Press.\u00a0<\/p>

Read more Houston felon guilty of selling 66 guns, switches to undercover agents<\/a><\/p> <\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An FDA advisory panel is considering updating the COVID vaccine to target the new XFG subvariant.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2684,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2686","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-u-s"],"yoast_head":"\nFDA advisers considering updating COVID vaccine for new subvariant - Houston Moving Journal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=2686\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"FDA advisers considering updating COVID vaccine for new subvariant - Houston Moving Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"An FDA advisory panel is considering updating the COVID vaccine to target the new XFG subvariant.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=2686\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Houston Moving Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-27T17:31:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/a392eff6a3e2aa7899d9d925a2f7e921.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"764\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"432\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=2686#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=2686\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e51740aab7bd577378c5f91b003a39ba\"},\"headline\":\"FDA advisers considering updating COVID vaccine for new subvariant\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-27T17:31:53+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=2686\"},\"wordCount\":337,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=2686#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/f7e7c01fac8e9a6689402c5f8696eca3.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Health\",\"U.S.\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=2686#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=2686\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=2686\",\"name\":\"FDA advisers considering updating COVID vaccine for new subvariant - 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