CLEVELAND — It appears that people aged 60 and over will have access to two new RSV vaccines this fall.
A CDC advisory board signed off on allowing two groups — those aged 60-64 with higher health risks and those 65 and older — to have access to the vaccines made by Pfizer and GSK. RSV attacks the airways, killing 10,000 seniors a year, but it can have lingering effects for healthier people.
"Some people need steroids or inhalers for a couple months to get over the hump depending on how severe but if you're vulnerable you can end up in a hospital especially if you have pre-existing lung disease," said Cleveland Clinic pulmonologist Joseph Khabbaza, MD.
RSV can lead to pneumonia, bronchitis, and even a form of asthma. Those with heart disease, lung conditions, or who are immunocompromised should talk to their health care provider, but so should healthy people.
"RSV seems to be one a lot of post-viral asthma [patients have]," Khabbaza admitted. "Even if you're low-risk for being hospitalized or severely ill from RSV, everyone is at risk of developing an asthma-type picture long after the virus is gone."
There's no rush to get this vaccine, and Pfizer and GSK expect to start shipping it to pharmacies in the fall. Meanwhile, Moderna is working on an mRNA RSV vaccine for those over age 60, and we're still waiting for the CDC to approve RSV shots for kids up to age two and another for pregnant women to protect their babies. The FDA signed off on those last month.
