FDA authorizes updated COVID vaccines — and free at-home tests are coming back. Here’s the latest.

New COVID vaccines updated to combat the FLiRT variants were authorized by the FDA on Aug. 22. (Getty Images)

Updated COVID-19 vaccines have now been authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. New versions of the shots made by Pfizer and Moderna are set to hit doctors’ offices, pharmacies and health centers in the coming days and weeks, experts tell Yahoo Life. In previous years, the FDA has made its decision on the shots during the first week of September. But amid this summer’s surge in COVID cases, experts say the FDA rushed to greenlight the immunizations early.

The federal government will also once again offer free at-home COVID tests, available for order in late September, Biden administration officials said on Aug. 23. Per CNBC, Americans will be able to order four tests per household from COVIDTests.gov.

If you have questions about the updated vaccines and what lies ahead for COVID this fall, read on for what experts want you to know.

What’s new about the vaccines?

The new shots were updated based on KP.2, one of the FLiRT variants that has helped to fuel the summer’s surge in COVID cases. “The goal is to hopefully come up with a better match with what is circulating at the time [the vaccine is available] so that people have an improved immune response to those variants,” Dr. David Smith, head of the division of infectious diseases and global public health at the University of California, San Diego, tells Yahoo Life.

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Who should get a COVID shot now?

Everyone ages 6 months and older should get the updated shot, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, regardless of whether you’ve been previously boosted or vaccinated. It’s an especially good idea for those who didn’t get last year’s COVID shot. “When we look at people who are currently hospitalized, they haven’t been boosted for a long time,” Dr. Larry Corey, professor in the vaccine and infectious disease division of Fred Hutch Cancer Center, tells Yahoo Life.

While experts support the CDC’s recommendation that everyone get the newly formulated shot, they acknowledge that many relatively young healthy people won’t. However, they add that it’s critically important for anyone with an underlying health condition that puts them at greater risk of getting severe COVID — including obesity, diabetes, heart disease and cancer, to name a few — and older adults to get vaccinated.

Most experts emphasize the importance of vaccination for those 65 and older, but others say anyone 50 and up should stay up-to-date. “This virus kills old people, it just does,” says Smith. “For people over the age of 65 … and every five years over 65, it becomes even more important to get vaccinated.”

When will the shots be available?

The FDA hasn’t said when the shots will be available, but experts tell Yahoo Life the vaccine makers have shots ready to ship. It’s unclear who will get access to the shots first. Veterans Administration hospitals used to get their doses first; now they’re often the last to get them, says Smith. Big name pharmacies like CVS could similarly be at the front or the back of the line, and doctors’ offices and community health centers could fall anywhere between. Experts told Yahoo Life they are hopeful that shots will be widely available by Labor Day.

Do you need the shot if you just had COVID?

Wait until you’re no longer sick to get a booster, say experts. Once you’ve recovered, the CDC recommends getting the vaccine, although you can technically wait up to three months. The wait time, experts emphasize, has nothing to do with safety. Corey adds that immunity from a combination of a recent vaccine and a recent infection might even help antibodies against COVID last longer. Corey said he would consider waiting four to eight weeks after having COVID to get an updated shot.

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How much will the vaccine cost?

For most people with insurance, the vaccine will be free, although patients may be responsible for a $25-$40 copay, according to an analysis done by the Kaiser Family Foundation in 2023, when the federal government stopped fully funding vaccination. Anyone with insurance through Medicare or Medicaid will be able to get the vaccine at no cost. However, uninsured people may have to search harder for a free or low-cost shot. The CDC’s “Bridge” program, which provided free COVID immunization, is ending this month after running out of funding.

If you are uninsured, you may still be able to find free vaccines through local health departments and community health centers or fairs, but it may not be as simple as walking into your neighborhood pharmacy anymore.