May 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration

said on Wednesday it will hold a meeting of experts on May 22 to

discuss COVID-19 vaccine recommendations for the upcoming

immunization campaign.

The meeting comes after the appointment of FDA commissioner

Martin Makary, who had raised concerns about a number of public

health efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic and opposed vaccine

mandates for the general public.

In the U.S., three COVID shots have been authorized for use

- Moderna ( MRNA ) and Pfizer-BioNTech's/

messenger RNA based vaccines along with Novavax's ( NVAX )

protein-based shot.

Investors have been closely monitoring FDA decisions as

mass firings at the regulator have sparked concerns about

potential erosion of its drug review system.