CDC recommends Pfizer, GSK vaccines for older adults
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The Centers for Disease and Prevention on Thursday recommended adults aged 60 and older get one of two respiratory syncytial virus vaccines this fall, making them the first shots against the disease to be authorized in the U.S.
Driving the news: The vaccines from GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer shots have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The CDC said older adults should first consult with their doctors if the shot is right for them.
- RSV, along with other respiratory illnesses like COVID and the flu, typically begin to spike in the fall.
- The disease causes up to 10,000 deaths and as many as 160,000 hospitalizations a year for adults 65 and up, per data from the CDC.
- A vaccine for children, who are also at elevated risk, has not been approved in the U.S. However, FDA advisers in May endorsed giving pregnant people an experimental Pfizer vaccine to protect infants.
Catch up quick: CDC advisers last week recommended the shots for older adults but noted that doctors and patients should make the final determination.
- The advisory committee was also concerned at the time that the drugmakers had yet to establish a price for the vaccines, which the companies estimate will range between $180 and $295.
Details: Pfizer said its shot is about 86% effective at preventing severe illness and 67% at preventing milder infection.
- GSK's vaccine was found to be 94% effective at lowering the risk of severe illness and approximately 83% at reducing symptomatic infection in older adults.
