The FDA has expanded the Emergency Use Authorizations (EUAs) for the mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines manufactured by Pfizer/BioNTech (Comirnaty) and Moderna (Spikevax) to include administration of a third dose in persons ≥12 years old (Pfizer/BioNTech) or ≥18 years old (Moderna) who have undergone solid organ transplantation or have a condition that compromises the immune system to a similar extent (see Table 1).

Annual vaccination against influenza A and B viruses is recommended for everyone ≥6 months old without a contraindication.1 Available influenza vaccines for the 2021-2022 season are listed in Table 2.

A recent article in JAMA and an interview of its senior author on 60 Minutes have heightened interest in off-label use of the oral selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) fluvoxamine (Luvox, and generics) to treat COVID-19.

A reader commenting on our Treatment of Lyme Disease article (Med Lett Drugs Ther 2016; 58:57) objected to a footnote in the table advising against use of doxycycline in children <8 years old. This warning has been included in the labeling of all tetracyclines since 1970 when it was recognized, after decades of use, that these drugs caused permanent staining and enamel hypoplasia of developing teeth. The CDC recently stated that short courses of doxycycline, which was first marketed in the US in 1967 and has less affnity for calcium than other tetracyclines, have not been shown to cause tooth staining.1 That statement was prompted by the discovery that children <10 years old have a disproportionately high fatality rate from rickettsial diseases, particularly Rocky Mountain spotted fever, for which doxycycline is the drug of choice and chloramphenicol is the only proven alternative.

The main evidence supporting the CDC's statement was a retrospective cohort study consisting of a record review and dental examination of 271 children living on a Native American reservation. No staining was detected in any of the 58 children who had been treated with doxycycline before the age of 8 years or in any of the 213 children who had not been exposed to the drug. Enamel hypoplasia was present in 4% of children in both cohorts.2

Lyme disease, unlike Rocky Mountain spotted fever, is seldom fatal and can be treated with antibiotics other than doxycycline. A single dose of doxycycline is recommended for prophylaxis after a tick bite. Given the CDC's statement about its safety, it would seem reasonable to use doxycycline for prophylaxis in all age groups. When longer treatment courses (10, 14, or 28 days) are recommended for the various clinical manifestations of Lyme disease in children <8 years old, alternative antibiotics generally could be used instead.

1. HM Biggs et al. Diagnosis and management of tickborne rickettsial diseases: Rocky Mountain spotted fever and other spotted fever group Rickettsioses, Ehrlichioses, and Anaplasmosis – United States. MMWR Recomm Rep 2016; 65:1.
2. SR Todd et al. No visible dental staining in children treated with doxycycline for suspected Rocky Mountain spotted fever. J Pediatr 2015; 166:1246.

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Many drugs can cause psychiatric symptoms, but a causal connection is often difficult to establish. Psychiatric symptoms that emerge during drug treatment could also be due to the underlying illness, previously unrecognized psychopathology, or psychosocial factors. The withdrawal of some drugs can cause symptoms such as anxiety, psychosis, delirium, agitation or depression.

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The antiplatelet drug clopidogrel (Plavix, and others) reduces major cardiovascular events, but can cause bleeding. Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are often used with clopidogrel to prevent gastrointestinal bleeding, however, some evidence suggests that PPIs may interfere with the activation of clopidogrel and diminish its antiplatelet effect. FDA-approved labeling recommends avoiding concurrent use of the PPIs omeprazole and esomeprazole with clopidogrel.

The US Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommends routine use of the following vaccines in adults residing in the US: influenza, tetanus/diphtheria alone (Td) and in combination with acellular pertussis (Tdap), measles/mumps/rubella (MMR), varicella (VAR), herpes zoster (RZV; ZVL), human papillomavirus (HPV), and pneumococcal conjugate (PCV13) and polysaccharide (PPSV23) vaccines. For adults with certain medical conditions or occupational, behavioral, or other risk factors, hepatitis A (HepA), hepatitis B (HepB), meningococcal (MenACWY; MenB), and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) vaccines are also recommended. Recommendations for vaccination against seasonal influenza and vaccination of travelers are reviewed separately.

The investigational monoclonal antibody sotrovimab (VIR-7831; GSK/Vir Biotechnology) has been granted an FDA Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 in patients ≥12 years old who weigh ≥40 kg and are at high risk of progressing to severe disease, including hospitalization and death.1 Two other monoclonal antibody regimens are authorized for the same indication: casirivimab (REGN10933) and imdevimab (REGN10987) administered together, and bamlanivimab (LY-CoV555) and etesevimab (LYCoV016) administered together. The FDA revoked its EUA for bamlanivimab alone in April 2021 because an increasing percentage of COVID-19 cases in the US are being caused by SARS-CoV-2 variants that are resistant to monotherapy with the drug.

Treatment of atrial fibrillation includes anticoagulation, rate control, and rhythm control. US guidelines were recently updated.

The FDA has issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for Regeneron's investigational monoclonal antibodies casirivimab and imdevimab (REGEN-COV) to be administered together by IV infusion or SC injection for treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 in adults and pediatric patients (≥12 years old and weigh ≥40 kg) who are at high risk of progressing to severe COVID-19 and/or hospitalization.