Covid vaccines: transitioning to a new normal

CTI member Prof. Sir Jonathan Van-Tam spoke to VaccinesToday about what routine COVID-19 vaccination should look like now that the emergency phase of the pandemic is over.

Key points

• In May 2026 the European Medicines Agency recommended updating COVID-19 vaccines to target the XFG variant, with manufacturers adapting their products through a process increasingly similar to the annual update of seasonal flu vaccines.
• Booster uptake for COVID-19 still lags well behind influenza, even though older and clinically vulnerable people remain at risk.
• Unlike flu, COVID-19 has no settled seasonality, which makes the timing of strain selection harder and risks decisions being taken too late for the autumn campaigns.
• Offering the COVID-19 and flu vaccines together, at a single appointment, could improve convenience and uptake.
• Alternating vaccine technologies may help strengthen the immune response, though “more research is needed”.

Summarised from the original coverage; the CTI is not the author or publisher of this piece.