Covid-19 is back. Flu and RSV are coming. What to know about fall shots.

livemint.com:

Pfizer, Moderna and Novavax all plan to bring boosters to the market this fall. Pfizer expects to win Food and Drug Administration approval in August, with vaccinations starting in September. Novavax said it expects to get clearance and ship doses in September, and Moderna said it is waiting for approval.

The new boosters target an Omicron subvariant called XBB.1.5 that dominated cases through the spring and summer. It recently declined to a projected 5% of cases, according to federal data, in the midst of a still-busy landscape of Omicron subvariants. A newer subvariant, called EG.5 and unofficially known as Eris, leads the pack at roughly one in five cases, according to the latest Centers for Disease Control and Preventionprojections.

The World Health Organization said EG.5 is closely related to XBB.1.5. “Unless we get another variant that pops up, we should have a really good match," said Dr. Linda Yancey, an infectious-disease specialist at Memorial Hermann Health System in Texas.

The virus continues to evolve. Both the WHO and the CDC said they are tracking a new lineage called BA.2.86. It is another Omicron subvariant with many mutations, according to health authorities.

There are no official recommendations for the new boosters yet, because the CDC creates vaccine guidance only after the shots get clearance from the FDA. The shots have shown they help keep people out of hospitals and reduce deaths. People can still face risk of serious complications from Covid-19, particularly older people, including those with compromised health, and others with weakened immune systems.