Top health officials in the US are preparing for the rollout of a new updated Covid vaccine this winter. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) revealed that they are holding a public meeting in May to discuss the necessity of updating the current vaccines and deciding on which variant to include in next winter's dose.

The FDA expects changes to the vaccine composition might be required based on the currently circulating strains of the virus. It is anticipated that the Covid vaccine will need to be updated annually, similar to the flu shots, in order to enhance protection against emerging variants.

A recent surge in vaccine skepticism across the US has resulted in low vaccination rates among certain age groups. Data shows that only forty percent of people aged 75 years and older received the updated shots last year, while barely 20 percent of those over 18 came forward for the new Covid vaccine.

The FDA's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee plans to hold a meeting in June this year to make recommendations for vaccine companies like Pfizer and Moderna to update their shots. These updates involve switching the Covid spike protein to train the immune system to recognize new variants.

The new shots, designed to boost protection against newer variants, have been deemed safe for every American over the age of six months. The FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are expected to approve the new shots, which will likely be rolled out in September.

Officials anticipate annual updates to Covid vaccines to match new variants, following a similar model to how flu shots are updated. Amid dropping Covid cases and hospitalizations in the US, the efforts to update the vaccine aim to combat the evolving strains of the virus.