December 8, 2022 – The FDA has given Pfizer’s RSV vaccine candidate priority review, as hospitals are continuing to struggle in the surge of pediatric RSV infections. There are currently very few treatment options for RSV patients.
The RSV vaccine would be the first of its kind to treat this highly infectious respiratory virus.
The vaccine candidate is intended to prevent RSV in people 60 and older, according to a Dec. 7 news release from Pfizer. Infants and older adults are at high risk for severe RSV cases, but comparatively, older populations have a higher death rate from the virus, according to the CDC. Each year, 6,000 to 10,000 Americans 65 and older and 100 to 300 infants and toddlers die from it.