The virus that causes COVID-19 is always changing, and protection from COVID-19 vaccines declines over time. While the bivalent COVID-19 vaccines provided enhanced protection against illness and hospitalization last year, new variants are emerging and replacing previous variants. Variants of the XBB family are currently causing most COVID-19 cases.
Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Novavax have each created an updated COVID-19 vaccine to target currently circulating variants and provide better protection against serious consequences of COVID-19, including hospitalization and death. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends everyone 6 months and older get an updated COVID-19 vaccine to protect against serious illness from COVID-19.