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6 in 10 US Adults Eligible for Pneumococcal Vaccine Don’t Receive It, Survey Suggests
Less than 40% of a sample of U.S. adults eligible for the pneumococcal vaccine had received the vaccine by January 2024, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — led survey shows. The researchers, who published the findings this week in Vaccine, surveyed 1,553 vaccine-eligible adults aged 19 to 64 years about their knowledge, attitudes, and pneumococcal vaccine status in January 2024.
Adults aged 65 years and older and those aged 19 to 64 years with conditions such as diabetes and cancer are eligible for the vaccine. “Pneumococcal disease contributes to significant morbidity in the United States,” the authors wrote. “Before October 2024, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices [ACIP] recommended pneumococcal vaccination for risk-eligible adults aged 19–64 years; however, as of 2023, vaccination coverage remained low (33.1%).”
In October 2024, ACIP recommended expanding the age-based recommendation to those aged 50 years or older, from 65 years and up, to improve vaccine uptake among high-risk adults. “Some of the factors that prompted the ACIP to make this change included suboptimal pneumococcal vaccination coverage among risk-eligible adults, preventable differences in pneumococcal disease incidence most notable among adults aged 50–64 years, and the relatively large proportion (30–50 %) of risk-eligible adults aged 50–64 years,” the researchers noted.
Among survey respondents, 39.2% said they had received at least one dose of pneumococcal vaccine, 50.6% were unvaccinated, and 10.2% were unsure whether they’d been vaccinated.
Big Pharma Companies Hit With FDA Warning Letters in Drug Ad Clampdown
Pharmaceutical Technology reported:
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has followed up on its promise to clampdown on misleading and deceptive drug advertisements in the U.S., with the agency publishing a large batch of warning letters sent to pharmaceutical companies.
During the announcement of its enforcement drive against unlawful direct-to-consumer ads, the FDA said it was in the process of sending out “thousands” of letters to pharma companies and vendors in breach of legislation.
On Sept. 16, the FDA published a long list of serious warning letters it has sent to companies accused either of unlawfully selling unapproved or misbranded drugs or of making false and misleading claims, part of a clampdown on drug advertisements.
Amongst those falling foul of the former classification is Hims & Hers, an online telehealth platform singled out by FDA chief Marty Makary in a viewpoint published in the peer-reviewed medical journal JAMA. Hims & Hers sells compounded semaglutide products with various claims that the FDA says are illegal.
In the latter category, several big pharma companies are implicated. Eli Lilly was sent three warning letters about its glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA) tirzepatide, known under the U.S. brand names Mounjaro and Zepbound for type 2 diabetes treatment and weight loss, respectively. Two were for online videos posted on local news websites in the U.S., and a third was linked to an Oprah Winfrey special programme on weight loss drugs from March 2024. Novo Nordisk was also sent a letter that referenced the same segment produced by Oprah Winfrey’s show.
RFK Jr.’s Handpicked CDC Vaccine Advisers Weigh Changes to Childhood Vaccine Schedule
The committee that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccines is meeting today to weigh potential changes to the childhood vaccine schedule, including for hepatitis B vaccines given to newborns and the combined measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox vaccine. Today is the first of a two-day meeting that will also include a discussion on COVID-19 vaccines on Friday. On Thursday, members are voting on whether to recommend against a combined measles, mumps, rubella and varicella vaccine for children younger than four — a move that would affect access through Vaccines for Children and possibly insurance coverage.
They’re also voting on whether to shift from recommending the hepatitis B vaccine shortly after a baby is born to recommending testing for pregnant women guidance that it shouldn’t be given to babies of women who test negative until at least one month after birth. The vaccine could still be available for babies younger than one month after consultation from a health care providers. The recently installed chair of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices opened the meeting by inviting several of the agency’s former directors to “a live public debate on vaccines.”
In his remarks, Dr. Martin Kulldorff said that only through debate could members of the public know who to trust for scientific advice. Kulldorff is among 12 members added to the committee this year by the U.S. Departmet of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime vaccine skeptic.
Scientists finally admit the Covid vaccines are less effective than claimed — 50 percent rapidly lose protection
COVID-19 vaccines may have been less effective than first thought, a major new analysis suggests. The World Health Organization claims their roll–out prevented 14.4 million deaths worldwide in their first year, with some estimates closer to 20 million.
But new research by Japanese scientists indicates that, while the mRNA jabs made by Pfizer and Moderna undoubtedly prevented severe illness, immune protection dipped much faster than expected. Analyzing antibody data from more than 2,500 adults, the team found almost half experienced a ‘rapid’ decline in immunity within nine months of a booster. COVID-19 infection rates were also around 15% higher in this group compared with those whose antibody levels stayed high.
Experts called the findings ‘important’ and said they pointed to a need for more ‘individualised vaccination strategies’ to keep people protected for longer. Taken together, nearly half of participants — the ‘rapid decliners’ and ‘vulnerable responders’ — lost substantial antibodies within just nine months of a booster. However, they cautioned more research is needed to explain why the vaccines, injected into muscle, seem to trigger weaker responses in some people. However, the researchers said it remains unclear why some people are more vulnerable to a weaker antibody response.
Novo Nordisk Shares Pop 5% After Wegovy Pill Trial Shows ‘Significant’ Weight Reduction
Novo Nordisk said Wednesday that late-stage trial results for its once-daily obesity pill showed “significant” weight reduction and tolerability in line with its blockbuster Wegovy injection, as drugmakers race to get an oral treatment to market. Results from the phase 3 Oasis 4 trial showed the oral semaglutide pill led to average weight reduction of 16.6% after 64 weeks in patients with obesity or overweight and at least one weight-related comorbidity, the Danish pharmaceutical firm said.
Shares jumped 5.4% by 10:23 a.m. London time (5:23 a.m. ET). Dubbed the “Wegovy pill,” Novo Nordisk’s Chief Science Officer Martin Holst Lange told CNBC that the oral treatment offered patients an important alternative to its existing once-weekly injection.
“Our job was to show that, with the tablet, we could get the same efficacy and the same safety and tolerability as we can with the injectable. That we have now done,” Lange said by phone. “That basically means that we can offer patients the choice between the tablet and the injectable, and that will make a difference for some patients,” he added.
Insurance Trade Group Says COVID, Flu Vaccines Covered Through 2026
In a major development, AHIP (formerly America’s Health Insurance Plans), the insurance company trade group, announced that it will continue to cover updated COVID vaccines and flu vaccines through the end of 2026. The announcement comes just before the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) is set to meet beginning tomorrow to discuss the use of and recommendations for those vaccines.
The COVID-19 mRNA vaccines are expected to be targeted during the upcoming meetings, as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has appointed several anti–COVID mRNA vaccine activists to the committee. AHIP’s statement says all ACIP-recommended immunizations as of Sept. 1, 2025, including updated seasonal COVID-19 and flu shots, will be covered with no cost-sharing for patients through the end of 2026.
“Health plan coverage decisions for immunizations are grounded in each plan’s ongoing, rigorous review of scientific and clinical evidence, and continual evaluation of multiple sources of data,” AHIP said. “While health plans continue to operate in an environment shaped by federal and state laws, as well as program and customer requirements, the evidence-based approach to coverage of immunizations will remain consistent.”
