Pfizer’s announcement Tuesday that an RSV vaccine in moms-to-be was nearly 82% effective at preventing severe cases in their babies’ first months of life was welcome news after decades of setbacks and delays. The findings won’t help this year’s surge, but it’s possible a vaccine could be available before next fall’s RSV season.
AP:
Strong RSV Vaccine Data Lifts Hopes After Years Of Futility
A tragedy in the 1960s set back the whole field. Using the approach that led to the first polio vaccine, scientists made an experimental RSV vaccine by growing the virus in a lab and killing it. But testing in children found not only was the vaccine not protective, youngsters who caught RSV after vaccination fared worse. Two died. “For a period of 20 years, even though science was advancing, nobody wanted to go near development of an RSV vaccine,” Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University.
Even today’s modern RSV vaccine candidates were tested first in older adults, not children, he noted. (Neergaard, 11/1)
USA Today:
RSV Vaccines Are ‘Long Overdue,’ But Here’s Why That Could Soon Change
Preventing that first serious respiratory infection might also pay off later in life, said Dr. Alejandra Gurtman, vice president of vaccine R&D for Pfizer. “If you’re able to avoid that damage that you have from the first infection, you may be able to have healthier lungs,” potentially avoiding problems like asthma later on, she said. (Weintraub, 11/2)
The New York Times:
Scientists Are Gaining On RSV, A Persistent Threat To Children
Of the three respiratory viruses Americans are grappling with this winter, two — the coronavirus and the flu — are well-known threats. The third, respiratory syncytial virus, which already has sent thousands of children to hospitals, is a mystery to many. “It is, unfortunately, one of those large killers that nobody knows about,” said Dr. Keith Klugman, who directs the pneumonia program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. (Mandavilli, 11/1)
More on the spread of RSV —
The Atlantic:
The Worst Pediatric-Care Crisis In Decades
At Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, in Maryland, staff has pitched a tent outside the emergency department to accommodate overflow; Connecticut Children’s Hospital mulled calling in the National Guard. It’s already the largest surge of infectious illnesses that some pediatricians have seen in their decades-long careers, and many worry that the worst is yet to come. (Wu, 10/31)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Orange County Declares Health Emergency Due To Viruses
A health emergency has been declared in Southern California’s Orange County due to rapidly spreading viral infections that are sending more children to the hospital, health officials said Tuesday. (Vaziri, Buchmann and Asimov, 11/1)
New Hampshire Public Radio:
NH Hospitals See Rise In RSV Infections Among Children
New Hampshire hospitals are seeing an early increase in cases of respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, this year. The cold-like infection is mild for most people but sometimes causes more severe respiratory illness in infants and very young children. (Cuno-Booth, 11/1)
NPR:
RSV Is Surging. Here’s What To Watch For And Answers About Treatment Options
Very young children born just before or during the pandemic did not benefit from regular or early exposure to common viruses, including RSV, which would have helped build up an immunity. (Romo, 11/2)
In related news —
The Boston Globe:
Hate Needles? Flu Vaccines Of The Future Could Be Skin Patches Delivered To Your Door
On Wednesday, Vaxess announced that it raised $27 million in series B funding led by the Boston biotech investor RA Capital Management. The money helped the company finally begin the first clinical trial of its technology in August. Results from the 45-person study of a flu vaccine patch are expected by the end of the year. (Cross, 11/2)
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