At long last, Novavax has secured a full FDA approval for its protein-based COVID-19 vaccine, though not in the broad population the company had originally sought. | The FDA has approved Novavax’s COVID vaccine in adults ages 65 years and older and in people between the ages of 12 and 64 who have at least one underlying health condition that puts them at high risk for severe COVID outcomes.

WASHINGTON — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. clinched the political support needed to become the nation’s top health official by pledging to work within the decades-old federal system for approval and use of vaccines. Yet his regulators are promising big changes that cloud the outlook for what shots might even be available.