Vaccine Shedding: Facts, Myths, & More

Bird Flu Puts Teen In Critical Condition As Canada Reports First Human Case: What You Need To Know

A teenager in British Columbia is in critical condition after contracting what is believed to be Canada's first human case of the bird flu.

The teen, previously healthy with no underlying conditions, has rapidly deteriorated due to avian influenza, health officials announced this week.

Provincial health officer Bonnie Henry revealed in a Tuesday video that the teenager was previously healthy with "no underlying conditions."

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The virus can progress and "cause quite severe illness" and rapid deterioration, Henry said, adding that the the virus doesn't spread easily between people.

In Canada, British Columbia alone has confirmed that there have been flu outbreaks at 26 premises. Numerous wild birds tested positive.

Canada has reported no cases in dairy cattle or evidence of the virus in milk samples.

The investigation is ongoing. Officials are urging the public to stay vigilant as cases rise among both domestic and wild animals.

The British Columbia teenager first showed symptoms on Nov. 2, including conjunctivitis, fever and coughing. The patient was hospitalized on Nov. 8 and is in intensive care with acute respiratory distress syndrome.

'I Don't Want To Have Us Go Backward'

In the U.S., the spread of bird flu is growing. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has tallied 46 confirmed human cases this year. Almost all of them are in dairy workers.

About 450 dairy farms across 15 U.S. States since March have reported cases.

The virus grabbed headlines last month when the U.S. Department of Agriculture said a pig at an Oregon farm contracted the bird flu.

"That is concerning to us," said Canadian health official Henry. Pigs can become infected with bird and human viruses, which can change their genetic material and create a new virus that might transmit more easily between humans, she said.

Such instances can very well lead to the "starting of the next pandemic," she added.

The situation is particularly alarming to the CDC considering the way President-elect Donald Trump handled the COVID-19 outbreak during his first term. Trump has promised to allow Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — a proud vaccine skeptic — to "go wild on health."

CDC Director Mandy Cohen seemed to be apprehensive about whether the U.S. Is going "backward" in comments made Wednesday at the Milken Institute Future of Health Summit in Washington, per Bloomberg.

"We have a very short memory of what it is like to hold a child who has been paralyzed with polio, or to comfort a mom who lost their kid from measles," Cohen said. "I don't want to have to see us go backward in order to remind ourselves that vaccines work."

Which Companies Are Preparing Bird Flu Vaccines?

Pfizer PFE and Moderna MRNA are continuing efforts to develop an mRNA bird flu vaccine — the same technology used in the companies' respective COVID-19 vaccines.

Federal health officials announced last month that $72 million in funding will go toward vaccine development, according to ABC News.

Price Action: Pfizer is trading at $26.36 per share, up 0.65% at last check Wednesday. Moderna is trading at $42.46 per share, down 2.32%.

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FDA Clears Pfizer's Abrysvo As First Maternal RSV Vaccine

News

Christian Bowen

Pfizer's respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine Abrysvo has become the first to be approved by the FDA for use in pregnancy to protect newborns and infants from lower respiratory tract disease (LRTD) that can be caused by the virus through the first six months of life.

Abrysvo is labelled for use as a single injection given to expectant mothers between 32 through 36 weeks of pregnancy, adding to its approval earlier this year for the prevention of RSV-related LRTD in people aged 60 years and older.

The restriction to that gestational age is because, in trials, Abrysvo was associated with a slightly higher rate of preterm births (5.7%) than placebo (4.7%) and, while it isn't clear that the vaccine is responsible, the FDA has taken a cautious stance.

GSK's rival vaccine Arexvy, also approved by the FDA this year for older adults, was abandoned as a maternal shot due to an imbalance in preterm births and neonatal deaths.

Nearly all newborns get RSV and show symptoms akin to a mild version of the flu. In some cases, however, the infection reaches the lower tract, which can be much more serious.

The go-ahead comes shortly after the US authorities cleared Sanofi and AstraZeneca's antibody-based alternative for RSV prevention – Beyfortus (nirsevimab) – as a new option for expectant mothers, before the RSV season gets underway in the autumn.

Abrysvo will still need to be reviewed by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advisors before it can be used as an alternative to Beyfortus this year, but with a meeting of the agency's Advisory Committee on Immunisation Practices (ACIP) scheduled for September it could get a green light in time.

While Abrysvo is administered to the mother, Beyfortus is a one-shot injection given directly to infants and toddlers, providing protection against RSV disease for several months. The CDC has previously said it is unlikely to be cost-effective to give both, so it may end up favouring one over the other.

"RSV is a common cause of illness in children, and infants are among those at highest risk for severe disease, which can lead to hospitalisation," said Peter Marks, director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER).

"This approval provides an option for healthcare providers and pregnant individuals to protect infants from this potentially life-threatening disease," he added.

Approximately 1% to 3% of children under 12 months of age in the US are hospitalised each year due to RSV, according to figures from the American Academy of Paediatrics. In a clinical study, Abrysvo reduced the risk of severe RSV-related LRTD by 82% within 90 days after birth, and 69% within 180 days.

"Today, a long-sought-after goal to deliver a maternal vaccine that will help protect infants six months of age or younger – when they are at greatest risk of possible serious consequences from RSV – has been achieved," said Annaliesa Anderson, Pfizer's chief scientific officer for vaccine R&D.

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