PanamaTimes

Tuesday, Jul 01, 2025

US Becomes 1st Country To Approve Respiratory Syncytial Virus Vaccine

US Becomes 1st Country To Approve Respiratory Syncytial Virus Vaccine

Drugmaker GSK's Arexvy was green-lighted for adults aged 60 and older, with similar shots from other makers including Pfizer and Moderna expected to follow soon.
The United States on Wednesday approved the world's first vaccine for the Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), the culmination of a decades-long hunt to protect vulnerable people from the common illness.

Drugmaker GSK's Arexvy was green-lighted for adults aged 60 and older, with similar shots from other makers including Pfizer and Moderna expected to follow soon.

"Today's approval of the first RSV vaccine is an important public health achievement to prevent a disease which can be life-threatening," said senior US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) official Peter Marks in a statement.

The decision "marks a turning point in our effort to reduce the significant burden of RSV," added Tony Wood, GSK's chief scientific officer.

RSV is a common virus that normally causes mild, cold-like symptoms, but can be serious for infants and the elderly, as well as those with weak immune systems and underlying conditions.

In severe cases it can cause pneumonia and bronchiolitis, an inflammation of the small airways deep inside the lungs.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, RSV leads to approximately 60,000 to 120,000 hospitalizations and 6,000 to 10,000 deaths among adults 65 years of age and older.

Awareness of the disease has increased in recent years, in part because of the strain it has placed on hospital systems over the last two winters.

Rates of RSV and flu fell during Covid-19 lockdowns, but surged when restrictions were lifted, with young children hit hard.

Pharmaceutical companies have been chasing an RSV vaccine for years. Given recent successful breakthroughs in the sector, analysts predict the market could be worth over $10 billion in the next decade, according to reports.

More vaccines on way

GSK's vaccine contains a "subunit" or part of the virus to help train the immune system should it encounter the real thing.

It was approved based on a study of 25,000 people aged 60 and older that showed a single dose was 83 percent effective against disease caused by RSV, and more than 94 percent effective against severe disease.

Researchers will continue to follow volunteers in the study to assess the duration of protection as well as the safety and efficacy of more doses.

The most common side effects included injection site pain, fatigue, muscle pain, headaches and joint stiffness.

An irregular heartbeat was a less common side effect, occurring in 10 participants who received Arexvy and four participants who received placebo.

Safety issues were also found in two other studies of the drug involving approximately 2,500 people aged 60 and up. In one of these studies, two volunteers developed a rare type of inflammation that affects the brain and spinal cord, and one of them died.

In the other study, one participant developed Guillain-Barre syndrome, in which the immune system damages nerve cells, causing muscle weakness and sometimes paralysis.

GSK's Arexvy was recommended for approval last week by the European Union's drug watchdog, the European Medicines Agency, whose positive opinions are normally formally followed by approval from the European Commission.

Pfizer has said that it expects a decision from the FDA in May for its own RSV vaccine, also for those over 60 years old.

In January, Moderna said it hopes its RSV vaccine will be approved and available in time for the Northern Hemisphere's winter later this year.

Several other companies are also developing RSV vaccines.

Last year, the EU approved a preventative antibody treatment against RSV, developed by British-Swedish pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca and France's Sanofi, which confers temporary protection.
Comments

Oh ya 2 year ago
Anyone willing to take another jab after what has come out about the deaths and injuries from the covid shot deserves everything they get. You cant fix stupid

Newsletter

Related Articles

PanamaTimes
0:00
0:00
Close
OpenAI Secures Multimillion-Dollar AI Contracts with Pentagon, India, and Grab
Brazilian Congress Rejects Lula's Proposed Tax Increase on Financial Transactions
Landslide in Bello, Colombia, Results in Multiple Casualties
Papa Johns pizza surge near the Pentagon tipped off social media before Trump's decisive Iran strike
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
Minnesota Lawmaker Melissa Hortman and Husband Killed in Targeted Attack; Senator John Hoffman and Wife Injured
Wreck of $17 Billion San José Galleon Identified Off Colombia After 300 Years
Sole Survivor of Air India Crash Recounts Escape
Coinbase CEO Warns Bitcoin Could Supplant US Dollar Amid Mounting National Debt
UK and EU Reach Agreement on Gibraltar's Schengen Integration
Israeli Finance Minister Imposes Banking Penalties on Palestinians
U.S. Inflation Rises to 2.4% in May Amid Trade Tensions
Trump's Policies Prompt Decline in Chinese Student Enrollment in U.S.
Global Oceans Near Record Temperatures as CO₂ Levels Climb
Trump Announces U.S.-China Trade Deal Covering Rare Earths
Smuggled U.S. Fuel Funds Mexican Cartels Amid Crackdown
Protests Erupt in Los Angeles with Symbolic Flag Burning
Trump Administration Issues New Travel Ban Targeting 12 Countries
Man Group Mandates Full-Time Office Return for Quantitative Analysts
JPMorgan Warns Analysts Against Accepting Future-Dated Job Offers
Builder.ai Faces Legal Scrutiny Amid Financial Misreporting Allegations
Japan Grapples with Rice Shortage Amid Soaring Prices
Goldman Sachs Reduces Risk Exposure Amid Market Volatility
HSBC Chairman Mark Tucker to Return to AIA as Non-Executive Chair
Israel Confirms Arming Gaza Clan to Counter Hamas Influence
Judge Blocks Trump's Ban on International Students at Harvard
Trump Proposes Travel Ban on 'Uncontrolled' Countries
Panama Port Owner Balances US-China Pressures
Trump Administration Accused of Obstructing Deportation Cases
Trump’s China Strategy Remains a Geopolitical Puzzle
Eurozone Inflation Falls Below ECB Target to 1.9%
Call for a New Chapter in Globalisation Emerges
Blackstone and Rivals Diverge on Private Equity Strategy
Mayor’s Security Officer Implicated | Shocking New Details Emerge in NYC Kidnapping Case
Bangkok Ranked World's Top City for Remote Work in 2025
Denmark Increases Retirement Age to 70, Setting a European Precedent
Netanyahu Accuses Western Leaders of 'Emboldening Hamas'
Escalating Trade Tensions and Market Reactions
OnlyFans Reportedly in Talks for $8 Billion Sale
JBS Gains Shareholder Approval for U.S. Stock Listing
Booz Allen Hamilton to Cut 2,500 Jobs Amid Federal Spending Reductions
Trump Signs Executive Orders to Accelerate Nuclear Energy Development
Harvard Temporarily Blocks Trump Administration's International Student Ban
Nippon Steel Forms Partnership with U.S. Steel, Headquarters to Remain in Pittsburgh
Trump Expands Tariff Threats to Apple and Samsung Devices
Oracle and OpenAI Plan $40 Billion Nvidia Chip Purchase for AI Data Center
Trump Threatens 50% Tariff on EU Goods, Markets React
The Daily Debate: The Fall of the Dollar — Strategic Reset or Economic Self-Destruction?
Former FBI Director James Comey Questioned by Secret Service Over Social Media Post
Mexican Influencer Valeria Márquez Killed During Livestream in Suspected Femicide
×