Last Updated on September 14, 2023 by Aditi Gangal
Quick Take
Recently, several social media posts are claiming that FDA has slyly banned COVID-19 vaccines. We fact-checked and found the claim to be False. In a recent update, FDA mentioned that monovalent vaccines are no longer authorized for use as bivalent COVID-19 vaccines could be used for all doses, against all variants.
The Claim
Several social media posts on Twitter and Instagram have claimed that FDA has agreed to ban COVID-19 vaccines raising concerns about the effectiveness or safety of the COVID-19 vaccines.
Fact Check
What are monovalent and bivalent COVID-19 vaccines?
Simply put, a monovalent COVID-19 vaccine has a chemical composition that can fight against only one strain of coronavirus. But a bivalent vaccine can fight against multiple COVID variants. The FDA authorized the monovalent covid vaccine in December 2020. But as COVID variants emerged, in August 2022, the FDA authorized bivalent COVID vaccines for the public.
Did FDA ban COVID-19 vaccines in 2023?
No. On April 18, 2023, FDA did issue a news release on its website and Twitter account claiming that monovalent vaccines are no longer authorized for the public. But the update also mentions that a step has been taken to simplify the vaccination schedule for people.
We found no evidence that can support online rumors claiming that the decision puts a question on the effectiveness or safety of the monovalent COVID vaccines. FDA continues to recommend COVID vaccines for infants who are six months and older and young kids.
Referring to this new update, Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research said “The FDA has been planning for the possibility that the composition of the COVID-19 vaccines would need to be modified to address circulating variants. We sought input from our outside experts on the inclusion of an omicron component in COVID-19 boosters to provide better protection against COVID-19. We have worked closely with the vaccine manufacturers to ensure the development of these updated boosters was done safely and efficiently. The FDA has extensive experience with strain changes for annual influenza vaccines. We are confident in the evidence supporting these authorizations”.
He further stated that “The public can be assured that a great deal of care has been taken by the FDA to ensure that these bivalent COVID-19 vaccines meet our rigorous safety, effectiveness and manufacturing quality standards for emergency use authorization.”
In addition to this assertion, we have encountered inconsistent claims about COVID vaccines. Recently, we debunked the claim that the COVID-19 vaccine can be transmitted from person to person.
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