Rob Stein
👤 SpeakerAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
RSV usually just causes cold-like symptoms, but the virus can be dangerous to very young babies.
In fact, RSV is the leading cause of hospitalizations for babies in their first year of life.
The shots, known as monoclonal antibodies, can reduce that risk by about 80%.
It's unclear what prompted the FDA's new safety review, but some critics have raised questions about whether the shots have been linked to adverse reactions.
The companies that make the shots, and independent infectious disease experts, however, say there's plenty of evidence the shots are very safe.
The drugmaker Pfizer is developing a Lyme disease vaccine with a French biotech company.
Pfizer says the vaccine reduced the risk of catching Lyme disease in a study involving more than 9,000 volunteers by about 74 percent.
Lyme disease is caused by a bacteria transmitted by tick bites and can cause flu-like symptoms as well as more serious complications, including arthritis and neurological problems.
District Court Judge Brian Murphy in Boston issued a preliminary ruling in a lawsuit filed by the American Academy of Pediatrics and other medical groups.
It puts a hold on a series of changes made by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
and an influential CDC Vaccine Advisory Committee that he stocked with members who share his anti-vaccine views.
That includes a decision to slash the number of vaccines that the federal government recommends that children receive routinely.
The Health and Human Services Department says the government plans to appeal the ruling.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says the group is withdrawing from the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.
The group says it's taking the step because recent decisions have undermined the committee's scientific integrity.
Under the leadership of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the CDC Advisory Committee has made a series of controversial recommendations.
That includes dropping a longstanding recommendation that all babies get vaccinated against hepatitis B at birth.