CDC Accepts Recommendations By Ousted Vaccine Panel For RSV, Meningococcal Vaccines

Reuters (7/2, Sunny) reports the CDC has accepted recommendations for the use of vaccines against respiratory syncytial virus and meningococcal disease made by the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices “in April, months before they were abruptly fired by U.S. Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr.” The agency “now recommends that adults aged between 50 and 59 years who are at an increased risk of severe illness from the RSV virus receive a single dose of RSV vaccine. The CDC previously recommended the vaccine only for adults aged 75 and older and at-risk adults aged 60 to 74.” MedPage Today (7/2, Rudd) adds that the CDC “also endorsed the previous ACIP members’ recommendation that GSK’s pentavalent Neisseria meningitidis (groups A, B, C, W, and Y) vaccine (Penmenvy) may be used when both the MenACWY and MenB vaccine are indicated at the same visit.” That recommendation applies to healthy people ages 16 to 23 years “when shared clinical decision making favors administration of MenB vaccine.”