Disease Prevention

The race to an RSV vaccine could soon be over, decades after the first attempt The FDA is poised to approve multiple RSV vaccines this year. The leading candidates are for older adults, but shots to protect infants are in the pipeline. NBC News

Roughly six decades after the first attempt to develop a vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus, the Food and Drug Administration is poised to approve several shots by next winter.

Omicron hospital illness 54% deadlier than flu hospital cases, study finds Adults hospitalized with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron infections in Switzerland died at 1.5 times the rate of those diagnosed as having influenza A or B. CIDRAP

...

Analysis of a subgroup of patients hospitalized primarily for COVID-19 or flu found that the risk of death was 2.5 times higher, and the likelihood of ICU admission was 1.7 times higher, among Omicron than flu patients.

...

What happens to COVID vaccines and drugs authorized for emergency use when health emergency ends? A pandemic allows the Food and Drug Administration to authorize vaccines and drugs for emergency use, even after the health emergency ends. YahooNews

...

U.S. proposes Medicare, Medicaid programs to cut drug costs, including $2 generics The U.S. health department proposed on Tuesday three new pilot projects aimed at lowering prescription drug prices for people enrolled in government health insurance plans, including offering some essential generic drugs for $2 a month. Ahmed Aboulenein Reuters

...