If the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) heed the counsel of professional advisers, adults in the US 60 years of age and older will be qualified for immunization with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccines from GSK or Pfizer later this year.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) of the CDC voted on June 21, 2023 in favor of distributing both vaccinations to this age range in advance of the upcoming RSV season, which generally begins in the US in the autumn.
Given that adverse effects have been observed with both doses, panelists voted in favor of allowing those aged 60 to 64 to get a single dose of the vaccination following “shared decision-making” between doctors and patients.
Related: CDC ADVISORY GROUP REVIEWS GSK AND PFIZER RSV VACCINATIONS
The same question was put to a second vote for those 65 and older, which received less support but still passed with nine in favor and five against.
The Department of Health and Human Services and Rochelle Walensky, who will be leaving at the end of the month, must still evaluate and accept the suggestion, but they frequently heed the ACIP’s counsel.
Since the ACIP also takes cost into account when making decisions, there was considerable disappointment at the conference when Pfizer refused to commit to a price for its Abrysvo vaccine. However, GSK has been more open, announcing that it will charge between $200 and $295 for its Arexvy injection. According to Pfizer, the suggested price range of $180 to $270 might change based on agreements with payers.
The vaccinations have been submitted for approval in other nations, but they have only ever been authorized in the US.
In a statement released this morning, GSK stated that it plans to introduce Arexvy in the US in time for the next season, predicting that some 55 million Americans may be eligible for the injections.
Shortly after GSK released revised data from Arexvy’s key AReSVI-006 study, which it said proved that Arexvy’s preventive effectiveness against RSV-caused lower respiratory tract illness continued into a second season, the ACIP decision was announced.
Additionally, such information will be provided to the FDA with the intention of including it in the vaccine’s label claims. Pfizer anticipates seeing comparable results for Abrysvo later in 2023.
In the US, RSV is thought to be responsible for 14,000 annual fatalities in individuals over 60 and roughly 177,000 hospitalisations.
The ACIP will focus on the use of Pfizer’s vaccine by mothers to prevent RSV illness in newborns and infants later today, as well as Takeda’s dengue fever vaccine TAK-003, vaccinations for chikungunya, and new pneumococcal vaccines from Pfizer and Merck & Co.
