February 28, 2023 – An FDA advisory panel is considering awarding a contract to 2 drugmakers to supply the primary vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
RSV kills about 14,000 older Americans annually, Reuters reported. Pfizer and GSK want to steer the market, which may very well be price between $5 and $10 billion.
“The FDA is expected to decide by May whether to authorize the vaccines for people 60 and older, typically following the recommendations of its independent panel of experts,” Reuters wrote.
The vaccinations could happen in time before the winter wave.
Merck, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson are working on their very own RSV vaccines.
Last 12 months, studies showed that doses from Pfizer and GSK prevented disease attributable to RSV. GSK's vaccine was 82.6% effective at stopping lower respiratory tract disease in people over 60 and 94.1% effective at stopping severe disease. Pfizer's vaccine was 66.7% effective at stopping RSV-related lower respiratory tract disease with greater than two symptoms and 85.7% effective in individuals with greater than three symptoms.
“RSV is the last of the major respiratory viruses that affect our population annually,” said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
The CDC According to the researchers, those most susceptible to severe RSV infection include adults over 65, adults with chronic heart or lung disease, and people with weakened immune systems.
Adults with RSV typically have mild, cold-like symptoms, but lung infections or pneumonia are possible, the CDC says. RSV may sometimes worsen serious illnesses resembling asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and congestive heart failure.
Schaffner said he expects the FDA advisory panel to approve each firms' vaccines later this week.