The FDA has expanded its Emergency Use Authorization for the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by Pfizer/BioNTech (Comirnaty) to include administration of a booster dose in children 5-11 years old who completed a primary series of the Pfizer vaccine ≥5 months previously.

The US Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) now recommends routine immunization with 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13; Prevnar 13), in addition to the 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23; Pneumovax 23), for all adults ≥65 years old.1An unpublished, randomized, double-blind trial (CAPiTA) in about 85,000 adults ≥65 years old found that vaccination with PCV13 reduced first episodes of vaccine-type community-acquired pneumonia and invasive pneumococcal disease by 46% and 75%, respectively, compared to placebo.2Adults ≥65 years old who...

An outbreak of monkeypox has recently spread around the globe and across the US. Updated information about the current outbreak is available from the CDC.

The CDC is recommending that persons at high risk of mpox (see Table 1) receive two doses of the Jynneos vaccine. The recommendation follows reports of a recent cluster of mpox cases in the US and warnings about the risk of a renewed outbreak during the spring and summer as people gather for festivals and other events. The CDC does not recommend routine immunization against mpox for the general population.

A large mumps outbreak that began in Iowa in December 2005 has spread. About 40% of the cases have been in people 18-25 years old, many of whom are college students and had been vaccinated against the disease.

An outbreak (8 cases to date) of meningococcal disease at Princeton University caused by Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B has led the FDA and CDC to permit importation and investigational use (at Princeton University only) of a meningococcus B vaccine (4CMenB; Bexsero – Novartis) that has not been approved in the US. Bexsero has been approved for use in the European Union and in Australia.THE VACCINE — Until recently, no serogroup B vaccine was widely available because the polysaccharide capsule of the B serogroup, unlike those of the other main meningococcal serogroups (A, C, Y, and...

In 2014, the US Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommended that all adults 65 years old and older being vaccinated against pneumococcus for the first time receive the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) followed 6 to 12 months later by the pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23)(Med Lett Drugs Ther 2014; 56:102). In June 2015, the ACIP changed the recommended interval between the two vaccines to >1 year for immunocompetent adults ≥65 years old (MMWR Morbid Mortal Wkly Rep 2015; 674:944). Separating the vaccines by a year or more may improve the immune...

The FDA has expanded the Emergency Use Authorizations (EUAs) for the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines manufactured by Pfizer-BioNTech (Comirnaty) and Moderna (Spikevax) to allow for their use as a second booster dose ≥4 months after a first booster dose in adults ≥50 years old and in persons aged ≥12 years (Pfizer) or ≥18 years (Moderna) who have undergone solid organ transplantation or have a condition that compromises the immune system to a similar extent.

The CDC has reported that many states are experiencing a higher-than-usual incidence of pertussis this year. The highest incidence has been in infants, but the disease has also occurred in older children, adolescents, and adults. Thirteen pertussis-related deaths were reported through August 24; the majority of these were in infants <3 months old.

The FDA has licensed the adjuvanted, recombinant varicella zoster virus (VZV) vaccine Shingrix (GSK) for prevention of herpes zoster (shingles) in adults of any age who are or will be at elevated risk because of disease- or therapy-induced immunodeficiency or immunosuppression. Shingrix has been licensed for herpes zoster prevention in adults ≥50 years old since 2017.1 It is the only VZV vaccine currently available in the US; Zostavax, a live-attenuated VZV vaccine, was withdrawn from the market in 2020.