FDA likely to approve new COVID boosters as early as Wednesday: Report

Federal regulators this week are expected to approve a new series of booster vaccinations to help combat against COVID-19, with the latest line of shots meant to help counteract the Omicron variant of the virus. 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration "is expected to authorize a pair of booster shots targeting what appear to be the virus’ most contagious strains as soon as Wednesday," Politico reported, citing "three people with knowledge of the matter."

Health authorities have been calling for updated versions of the vaccines for months in the hopes that a new round of shots will help with the highly infectious Omicron mutation of the disease. 

The Omicron variant drove a sky-high global surge in COVID cases at the end of 2021 and into the early weeks of 2022, though deaths remained comparatively low relative to other surges, with authorities citing Omicron's lower morbidity, previous COVID infections and vaccines all helping to keep mortality low during the spike.