A health worker prepares a flu shot before administering it to local residents in Los Angeles, U.S., on December 17, 2022.
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one advisory committee Wednesday to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention respected Adults 60 and over, after consulting a physician, from Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline.
The group said older adults should use “Shared Clinical Decision-Making”, This involves working with their healthcare provider to decide how much they will benefit from the injection.
Outgoing CDC Director Rochelle Walensky will decide whether to finalize the recommendation.
The panel’s decision brings the U.S. closer to making a vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus available to the public this fall, when the disease typically begins to spread at higher levels.
The recommendation also comes weeks after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the two vaccines, making them the world’s first authorized vaccines against RSV.
The virus is a common respiratory infection that usually causes mild cold-like symptoms, but more severe symptoms can occur in the elderly and children. per year, RSV to kill According to the CDC, there are 6,000 to 10,000 seniors and hundreds of children under the age of 5.
Both Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline presented new clinical trial data to the panel on Wednesday, showing for the first time how durable their vaccines are after one RSV season. In the northern hemisphere, the season usually runs from October to March.
A single dose of Pfizer’s vaccine was 78.6 percent effective in preventing lower respiratory disease with three or more symptoms in the middle of the second RSV season, according to new clinical trial results released Wednesday. That’s down from more than 85 percent of seniors at the end of the first quarter.
Efficacy for less severe disease in this age group fell from about 66% to 48.9% “in the middle of the second quarter,” Pfizer said.
A dose of the GSK vaccine was 78.8 percent effective against severe RSV disease after two seasons and 94 percent after one season, the company said Wednesday. Severe illness is a case that interferes with normal daily activities.
For less severe RSV disease, efficacy decreased from 82% after one season to 67.2% after two seasons.
Dr. Michael Melgar, a CDC medical officer who reviewed the data on both shots, noted at a public meeting that Pfizer and GSK still lack efficacy data on the older populations most at risk for severe RSV.
Adults 75 and older and people with underlying medical conditions were underrepresented in the companies’ Phase 3 clinical trials, Melgar said. Older adults with weakened immune systems were completely excluded from the trial, he said.
Both companies said studies in these populations are ongoing.
It’s unclear how much the injections will cost. GlaxoSmithKline said its vaccine will be priced between $200 and $295. Pfizer said its vaccine will be priced between $180 and $270.
The companies declined to vouch for pricing.
The footage will help the U.S. fight the upcoming RSV season in the fall unusually serious Last year’s RSV season.
Cases of the virus in children and the elderly have overwhelmed hospitals across the country, largely because the public has stopped practicing the Covid-19 pandemic hygiene measures that have helped reduce the spread of RSV.
