Advisory committee votes bring good news about Mpox and RSV vaccines

While this was the only vote taken at the February 22-24 ACIP meeting, the committee also discussed COVID-19 booster vaccines for certain patient populations and received updates on vaccines for several other infectious diseases.

Jynnéos and Mpox

Jynneos, a replication-deficient orthopoxvirus vaccine, is given as a series of two doses given 28 days apart. The vaccine received FDA approval in September 2019 for adults at increased risk of smallpox or mpox infection. In November 2021, the ACIP voted unanimously to recommend Jynneos as an alternative to the ACAM2000 vaccine for people at risk of mpox infection following potential occupational exposure.

The Biden administration declared mpox a public health emergency in August 2022 and ended PHE on January 31. At its peak, the United States had more than 450 confirmed cases of mpox every day; THE latest CDC data indicates an average of two new cases per day.

Nearly 1.2 million doses of Jynneos were administered during the outbreak.

Vaccines against covid-19

Although no votes on COVID-19 vaccines were taken at the meeting, ACIP members had a lively discussion about the frequency of COVID-19 booster shots for the elderly and those who are immunocompromised.

Currently, the CDC recommended older adults and people with moderate or severely weakened immune systems receive COVID-19 booster shots more frequently than people with strong immune systems. However, ACIP’s COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force officials found insufficient evidence to recommend more than one COVID-19 booster per year for these populations and supported a plan for administering annual reminders, most likely in the fall.

In January, the FDA tasked its Vaccines and Related Biologics Advisory Committee with developing a strategy to “harmonize” how COVID-19 vaccines and boosters are administered and to simplify the composition of future vaccines. Any recommendations made by VRBPAC must be ratified by the FDA Commissioner and then approved by ACIP and the CDC Director before becoming effective.

Other things to note

ACIP also reviewed updates to influenza activity; the epidemiology of pediatric pneumococcal disease, meningococcal disease And chikungunya; and recommendations on adult poliomyelitis vaccination.

In addition, ACIP reviewed submissions on several potential treatment options for respiratory syncytial virus, including Nirsivamab, a single-dose, long-acting antibody designed to protect infants, and a pair of vaccines made by Pfizer Inc. and GSK to protect the elderly. Vaccines were also discussed at a subsequent VRBPAC meeting.

RSV vaccines narrowly approved

VRBPAC members voted 7-4 at their Feb. 28-March 1 meeting to recommend approval of Abrysvo, a vaccine manufactured by Pfizer Inc., for active immunization to prevent acute respiratory illnesses and diseases lower respiratory tract infections caused by RSV in adults 60 years and older.

The committee also voted to recommend approval of Arexvy, an adjuvanted recombinant vaccine manufactured by GSK, for active immunization to prevent lower respiratory tract disease caused by RSV subtypes RSV-A and RSV- B in adults 60 years and older.

If the FDA accepts the committee’s recommendations, Abrysvo and Arexvy would be the first RSV vaccines approved for use in the United States. A decision from the FDA commissioner is expected in the coming weeks.