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FDA approves new COVID vaccines
News briefToday at 3:19 p.m.
Liz Szabo, MA
Topics
COVID-19
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved updated COVID-19 vaccines from Moderna, Novavax-Sanofi and Pfizer-BioNTech. All three vaccines are designed to prevent severe disease caused by the dominant strain, the JN.1 lineage XFG subvariant.
The FDA approved the vaccines for adults 65 and older, as well as younger people with one or more chronic conditions that put them at higher risk for severe disease, the companies announced yesterday.
Each vaccine approval is slightly different.
- Pfizer’s mRNA vaccine, Comirnity XFG, is approved for adults 65 years and older, and people ages 5 to 64 years old with an underlying condition. Pfizer said in a press release that it has already begun distributing vaccines, and that they should arrive in pharmacies soon.
- Moderna’s mRNA vaccine, Spikevax, is approved for people age 65 and older, and those 6 months to 64 years old with an underlying condition. Moderna’s new, lower-dose vaccine, mNEXSPIKE, is approved for people age 65 and older, as well as people 12 to 64 years old with an underlying condition.
- Sanofi also has received FDA approval for its COVID-19 vaccine, Nuvaxovid, originally licensed by Novavax, which does not use mRNA technology. Nuvaxovid is approved for adults ages 65 years and older, and people ages 12 years to 64 years who are at high risk for severe COVID-19.
According to the CDC, cases of COVID-19 are “growing or likely growing” in 48 states.
Insurance questions remain
AHIP, an organization that includes most health insurers, has said that its members will cover the total cost of vaccines recommended by a CDC committee at least until the end of 2027. But insurance coverage has been in doubt, because that committee hasn’t met, due to a lawsuit claiming that its members were appointed illegally.CVS, one of the country's largest drugstore chains, is currently advertising “free COVID-19 vaccines with most insurance,” but notes that appointments may be unavailable in some states.
Quick takes: Infant botulism, New World screwworm preventative, ‘airport malaria’ in Germany, new polio cases in Africa
News brief7 minutes ago.
Chris Dall, MA
Topics
Botulism
Malaria
New World Screwworm
Polio
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention yesterday declared the outbreak of infant botulism linked to powdered formula over. Epidemiologic, traceback, and laboratory data indicate the cause of the outbreak, which led to four infant hospitalizations in three states, was contaminated Nara Organics Whole Milk Organic Infant Formula. No new cases have been reported since July 3. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says data indicate the milk used in the formula came from the same supplier implicated in a 2025 infant botulism outbreak linked to infant powdered formula.
- The FDA announced yesterday that it has issued an emergency use authorization for Bimectin, an injectable form of ivermectin, for the prevention of New World screwworm (NWS) infestations in cattle. The FDA says all available scientific data suggest Bimectin—when administered within 24 hours of birth, at the time of castration, or at the appearance of a wound—may be effective at preventing NWS myasis. There have been 46 confirmed detections of NWS in cattle and sheep in Texas since June 3, and one case in a dog in New Mexico.
- Two airport workers in Germany have died after contracting malaria from an Anopheles mosquito transported by plane, and four others have been hospitalized, German health officials said this week. Public Health Authority Frankfurt says it’s investigating the incident, and that mosquito traps have been set up at Frankfurt Airport to monitor for possible occurrences of disease-carrying mosquitoes. Frankfurt Airport previously experienced cases of ‘airport malaria’ in 2022. “For the residents of Frankfurt, the risk is considered to be very, very low,” officials said in a statement.
- The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Nigeria reported new cases of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) this week, according to an update from the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. DRC reported five cVDPV2 cases with paralysis onset in May and July, bringing its 2026 total to 37 cases. Nigeria reported two cases with paralysis onset in July, bringing its total this year to 34 cases.
Early antivirals for kids with flu tied to dramatically lower risk of hospitalization
News briefToday at 9:30 a.m.
Meghan Holohan
Topics
Influenza, General
Giving children antiviral drugs within the first two days of the onset of flu symptoms reduces their likelihood of hospitalization by 81%, a study published last week in Pediatrics finds.
“This protective effect remained robust among children aged 5 years or younger,” wrote the authors, led by scientists at Hsinchu Municipal MacKay Children’s Hospital in Taiwan.
Many kids with flu not given antivirals
Worldwide, flu sent about 870,000 children under 5 years old to the hospital each year from 2010 to 2020. In the United States, 6,000 to 25,000 children annually require a hospital stay to treat flu and related illnesses.The researchers conducted a retrospective case-control study of the health data of 1,492 children, of which 1,206 (80.8%) received antiviral therapy within 48 hours of flu symptom onset, 269 (18.0%) received antivirals after 48 hours, and 17 (1.1%) did not receive antivirals. Those who received prompt antiviral treatment were 81% less likely to need hospital care.
“It is important to emphasize that early antiviral therapy should not be used in lieu of vaccination but rather as a supplement to vaccination, particularly in children younger than 6 months who are not eligible for influenza vaccination,” the authors said.
In an accompanying commentary, James Antoon, MD, PhD, MPH, and Kathryn Edwards MD, both of Vanderbilt University, noted that some pediatricians seem reluctant to use antivirals, adding that about 40% of high-risk pediatric flu patients go without them.
They urged more widespread use of the drugs. “The time has come for antivirals to be used in children with influenza,” they said. “With greater public hesitancy regarding vaccines, declining seasonal influenza vaccination rates, and recent influenza seasons with record pediatric deaths and hospitalizations, providers should strongly consider the use of antivirals in high-risk and hospitalized patients.”
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