February 11, 2021

FDA Aims To Be 'Nimble' On COVID-19 Vaccine Changes For Variants-NPR

With two COVID-19 vaccines available in the United States and more on the way, things are starting to look up. But virus mutations being detected around the world mean the vaccines may one day need updates to ensure they stay effective. The Food and Drug Administration is already working on a playbook for how it could greenlight vaccine changes. The agency is aiming to be "nimble" when it comes to evaluating COVID-19 vaccine tweaks to make them effective against the coronavirus mutations, says Marks, who heads the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. That means the agency will require some small studies, but not the large clinical trials that took companies months to recruit and complete the first time around. NPR, 02/11/2021