June 27 (Reuters) - A panel of outside experts to the

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted

unanimously to recommend the use of updated COVID-19 vaccines,

as authorized by the FDA, in those aged six months and older for

the 2024-25 immunization campaign.

The agency's recommendation comes after the U.S. Food and

Drug Administration asked vaccine manufacturers earlier this

month to update the new shots to target the KP.2 variant, if

feasible, instead of the JN.1 lineage it had sought to target

earlier.

The FDA's independent advisers, the European health

regulator and the World Health Organization, had sought to

target the JN.1 strain with the updated vaccines.

Moderna ( MRNA ) and Novavax ( NVAX ) - makers of two of

the three COVID vaccines - had submitted their applications to

the FDA for updating the fall 2024 season shots targeting the

JN.1 strain.

Novavax ( NVAX ) had said manufacturing was underway for a

vaccine tailored against JN.1 and it could not have a shot for

another strain ready this fall.

Pfizer ( PFE ) and Moderna ( MRNA ) make messenger RNA vaccines,

which can be developed more quickly than Novavax's ( NVAX ) protein-based

shot.

Novavax ( NVAX ) applied for authorization of its JN.1-targeting

vaccine earlier this month and said it could be made available

by mid-July. The shot showed broad cross-neutralizing antibodies

against multiple variants, including KP.2 and KP.3, according to

the company.