(ABC 6 News) — The Federal Drug Administration approved the newest round of COVID-19 vaccines on Thursday, and experts say that it’s time to get vaccinated again.

The new vaccines come as COVID-19 cases are rising in several states, including Minnesota and Iowa.

Dr. Priya Sampathkumar, Mayo Clinic infectious disease expert, said that the vaccine was developed to target the K.P. 2 variant of the virus, which was the predominant strain spreading earlier this summer.

A new variant is now predominantly spreading, but Sampathkumar said the hope is that the new vaccines will protect against both and any variants that may come along this fall and winter.

Cases are currently on the rise because not many people were vaccinated with the last round of boosters in the fall of 2023, which has caused the spread of new variants.

“Less than 25% of the population took advantage of those vaccines, so that’s one of the reasons why the virus is spreading rapidly, because there’s more people who are no longer protected,” Sampathkumar said.

The vaccine will not give complete immunity or completely stop the spread of the virus, but Sampathkumar said it will help prevent deaths and very serious illnesses.

The newest round of vaccines is expected to be available in the coming weeks.