The Food and Drug Administration has approved updated COVID vaccines for the fall season, with new restrictions on who can access booster shots. Under the FDA plan, COVID shots remain authorized for people who are 65 and older or are at higher risk of severe disease from an infection. Younger adults would be eligible to receive shots only if they have underlying medical conditions putting them at higher risk. The authorization still needs the approval of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. In June, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired all 17 of the committee’s members and replaced them with vaccine skeptics. COVID-19 remains a major driver of disability and mortality in the United States, with over 44,000 COVID deaths reported last year.