COVID-19 Vaccines (2026-2027 Formula) for Use in the United States Beginning in Fall 2026

FDA's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) met on May 28, 2026, to discuss and make recommendations on the selection of the 2026-2027 Formula for COVID-19 vaccines for use in the United States beginning in the fall of 2026.

The committee recommended that the composition of the COVID-19 vaccines (2026-2027 Formula) include the JN.1-lineage XFG as the preferred SARS CoV-2 virus variant for an updated monovalent vaccine.

During this meeting, the advisory committee was informed of the manufacturing timelines, they reviewed the available data on the circulation of SARS-CoV-2 virus variants, current COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness, human immunogenicity data of current vaccines against recently circulating virus variants, the antigenic characterization of circulating virus variants, animal immunogenicity data on new candidate vaccines expressing or containing updated spike components, and human immunogenicity data on the COVID-19 vaccines (2025-2026 Formula).

Based on the totality of the evidence, FDA has advised the manufacturers of the approved COVID-19 vaccines that to more closely match currently circulating SARS-CoV-2 viruses, the COVID-19 vaccines (2026-2027 Formula) for use in the United States beginning in fall 2026 should be a monovalent JN.1 lineage XFG variant vaccine.

FDA will continue to monitor the safety and effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccines and the evolution of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.