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FDA advisory panel split on whether agency should require updates of Covid-19 vaccine
Some members of the Vaccines and Related Biologics Products Advisory Committee worried that a strain change would require new testing that could delay delivery of vaccines for the fall.
The Food and Drug Administration’s expert vaccine panel appeared split Thursday on whether Covid-19 vaccine manufacturers should be advised to update the strain of the virus that their products target, with some favoring recommending a newer version of the virus and others suggesting manufacturers could be given the choice to update the vaccines or make the 2025-2026 vaccine with same version of the virus as was in this past winter’s shots.
Some members of the Vaccines and Related Biologics Products Advisory Committee appeared concerned that if the FDA recommends a strain change, manufacturers might face new testing requirements that could delay delivery of vaccines for the fall. Some appeared unconvinced that an update would offer markedly more protection.
In the end, the sole vote the committee was asked to take — Should the 2025-2026 vaccine target a JN.1 version of the SARS-CoV-2 virus? — passed unanimously. All current strains are from that family of the virus, so the “yes” vote was virtually guaranteed. It was on the broader question of which version should be targeted where the committee expressed divergent views.
