Category: Vaccine Headlines
Pfizer’s RSV vaccine, given during pregnancy, protects infants from severe illness
(Washington Post) Pfizer announced Tuesday that its maternal RSV vaccine, given during pregnancy, protected infants from developing severe symptoms during the first six months after birth — a critical window of vulnerability. The company plans to apply for approval of the vaccine before year’s end, with the hope that the shot could be the first […]
Nov 1, 2022
Did My Strong COVID Vax Reaction Give Me Better Immunity?
(MedPageToday) Is a strong reaction to the COVID-19 vaccine a sign of a more robust immune response that ultimately brings better protection against infection, hospitalization, and death? Many are asking that question as they roll up their sleeves for yet another booster. Science doesn’t have a definitive answer, as the literature is generally mixed — […]
Nov 1, 2022
China rolls out first inhalable COVID vaccine
(Reuters) In what is believed to be a world first, China’s commercial capital of Shanghai this week introduced a new type of COVID-19 vaccine that is inhaled rather than administered via injection. Chinese regulators approved the vaccine, produced by Chinese pharmaceutical firm CanSino Biologics for use as a booster in September. And now the first […]
Oct 28, 2022
Why isn’t there an RSV vaccine for kids?
(NBC News) A failed clinical trial in the late ’60s pushed the development of an RSV vaccine back decades Cases of RSV continue to surge in the U.S., but a vaccine to protect young children against the respiratory virus remains a long ways off. RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, is the most common cause of […]
Oct 27, 2022
Vaccine Candidates for RSV Ward Off Severe Illness in Older Adults
(MedPageToday) Prefusion F protein vaccine candidates for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) proved safe in adults 60 and up while demonstrating an ability to thwart lower respiratory tract illness, including severe cases, a pair of large phase III trials showed. A single dose of an RSV prefusion F protein vaccine (RSVPreF3 OA) yielded a vaccine efficacy […]
Oct 27, 2022
It’s a Bad Time to Be a Booster Slacker
(The Atlantic) And just like that, with the passing of Labor Day, fall was upon us. Seemingly overnight, six-packs of pumpkin beer materialized on grocery shelves, hordes of city dwellers descended upon apple orchards—and America rolled out new COVID boosters. The timing wasn’t a coincidence. Since the beginning of the pandemic, cases in North America […]
Oct 27, 2022
Merck to donate Ebola vaccine candidate for research program in Uganda
(Reuters) Merck said on Tuesday it was planning to produce and donate investigational Sudan ebolavirus vaccine to a global non-profit organization’s research program in Uganda, which is facing an outbreak of the disease. The investigational vaccine that will be donated to IAVI is similar to Merck’s Ervebo vaccine, which is approved against the Zaire ebolavirus […]
Oct 25, 2022
Got questions about the timing of flu and Covid vaccines? Here’s what experts say
(STAT) Over the past few weeks, cases of flu have begun to creep up across the U.S., with spikes in the southeast and south central part of the country. Flu hospitalizations are also on the rise. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s influenza tracking team, all signs point to an earlier than usual […]
Oct 25, 2022
A booster is your best shot now
(Ground Truths Blog) I know it’s hard to keep track of the new variants, with esoteric designations and without names (Hello WHO, where are you?). But several of these are quite troubling because their growth advantage compared to BA.5 (the wave we’re getting over) is substantial, chiefly related to their ability to work around our […]
Oct 24, 2022
FDA’s vaccines chief sees possibility of more Covid boosters — sooner than he’d like
(STAT News) Peter Marks, who leads the Food and Drug Administration’s vaccines operation, is still losing sleep over Covid. Yes, vaccines for all age groups have been authorized or approved. Yes, an updated vaccine is now available. And, yes, multiple products are in use and hundreds of millions of doses have been given in this […]
Oct 21, 2022