Dubai Telegraph - US becomes first country to approve RSV vaccine

EUR -
AED 3.82663
AFN 70.961809
ALL 98.138672
AMD 405.653176
ANG 1.877183
AOA 951.190967
ARS 1044.167695
AUD 1.599646
AWG 1.877898
AZN 1.768925
BAM 1.955574
BBD 2.102957
BDT 124.465633
BGN 1.955296
BHD 0.392555
BIF 3076.644867
BMD 1.04183
BND 1.403838
BOB 7.197169
BRL 6.043616
BSD 1.04158
BTN 87.914552
BWP 14.229358
BYN 3.408607
BYR 20419.862965
BZD 2.099458
CAD 1.456197
CDF 2991.093261
CHF 0.930624
CLF 0.036923
CLP 1018.831698
CNY 7.545955
CNH 7.559141
COP 4573.372102
CRC 530.538761
CUC 1.04183
CUP 27.608488
CVE 110.252274
CZK 25.306722
DJF 185.47859
DKK 7.457725
DOP 62.772754
DZD 139.835859
EGP 51.650195
ERN 15.627446
ETB 127.508482
FJD 2.371152
FKP 0.822334
GBP 0.831137
GEL 2.854575
GGP 0.822334
GHS 16.4561
GIP 0.822334
GMD 73.969495
GNF 8977.963687
GTQ 8.040072
GYD 217.904848
HKD 8.10981
HNL 26.320962
HRK 7.431641
HTG 136.724218
HUF 410.920048
IDR 16610.464601
ILS 3.856615
IMP 0.822334
INR 87.968197
IQD 1364.442504
IRR 43834.985936
ISK 145.522363
JEP 0.822334
JMD 165.930847
JOD 0.738756
JPY 161.24407
KES 134.88443
KGS 90.11281
KHR 4193.515949
KMF 492.261294
KPW 937.646374
KRW 1463.260366
KWD 0.320727
KYD 0.868
KZT 520.05997
LAK 22878.359185
LBP 93271.23384
LKR 303.145008
LRD 187.9983
LSL 18.79533
LTL 3.076253
LVL 0.630192
LYD 5.086413
MAD 10.478091
MDL 18.997807
MGA 4861.438851
MKD 61.522899
MMK 3383.822366
MNT 3540.137411
MOP 8.350936
MRU 41.443216
MUR 48.810137
MVR 16.1068
MWK 1806.091526
MXN 21.300719
MYR 4.654898
MZN 66.582998
NAD 18.79533
NGN 1767.669283
NIO 38.325576
NOK 11.541432
NPR 140.663763
NZD 1.785677
OMR 0.400944
PAB 1.04158
PEN 3.949544
PGK 4.193516
PHP 61.40439
PKR 289.239713
PLN 4.332887
PYG 8131.061444
QAR 3.798562
RON 4.980248
RSD 116.991496
RUB 108.510536
RWF 1421.83588
SAR 3.911475
SBD 8.734237
SCR 14.271984
SDG 626.658476
SEK 11.49581
SGD 1.402926
SHP 0.822334
SLE 23.680862
SLL 21846.653733
SOS 595.231293
SRD 36.978666
STD 21563.772237
SVC 9.113948
SYP 2617.628337
SZL 18.788831
THB 36.0395
TJS 11.09252
TMT 3.646404
TND 3.309018
TOP 2.440069
TRY 35.958741
TTD 7.074183
TWD 33.946456
TZS 2770.580196
UAH 43.090026
UGX 3848.555767
USD 1.04183
UYU 44.294887
UZS 13362.457591
VES 48.506696
VND 26482.270241
VUV 123.688121
WST 2.908362
XAF 655.881293
XAG 0.033274
XAU 0.000384
XCD 2.815597
XDR 0.792309
XOF 655.881293
XPF 119.331742
YER 260.379266
ZAR 18.844783
ZMK 9377.714007
ZMW 28.772679
ZWL 335.468752
  • BCE

    0.0900

    26.77

    +0.34%

  • BCC

    3.4200

    143.78

    +2.38%

  • RIO

    -0.2200

    62.35

    -0.35%

  • RYCEF

    -0.0100

    6.79

    -0.15%

  • NGG

    1.0296

    63.11

    +1.63%

  • SCS

    0.2300

    13.27

    +1.73%

  • RBGPF

    59.2400

    59.24

    +100%

  • GSK

    0.2600

    33.96

    +0.77%

  • CMSC

    0.0320

    24.672

    +0.13%

  • CMSD

    0.0150

    24.46

    +0.06%

  • VOD

    0.1323

    8.73

    +1.52%

  • BP

    0.2000

    29.72

    +0.67%

  • BTI

    0.4000

    37.38

    +1.07%

  • AZN

    1.3700

    65.63

    +2.09%

  • RELX

    0.9900

    46.75

    +2.12%

  • JRI

    -0.0200

    13.21

    -0.15%

US becomes first country to approve RSV vaccine
US becomes first country to approve RSV vaccine / Photo: JEAN-FRANCOIS MONIER - AFP

US becomes first country to approve RSV vaccine

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.

Text size:

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.

F.Saeed--DT