Category: Vaccine

The obituary spelled out the cause of death for the Lake Forest resident in the first sentence: The 83-year-old passed away from complications of COVID pneumonia a few weeks ago.

Despite Illinois and the federal government declaring this summer the pandemic over, folks are still dying from the virus. Others are leery and continue to question the safety and effectiveness of the vaccines, and the billions of dollars made by their manufacturers.

Last week, no Lake County residents died from the deadly virus, while three were hospitalized, according to federal data. The countys vaccination rate remains high at 84%, with 95% of those 65 and older being vaccinated.

As of the week of Oct. 21, Illinois overall had 119 residents ages 20 to 59 hospitalized. The crest for death counts during the pandemic was about 16,000 the week of Jan. 16, 2021, according to federal numbers.

Twenty-five percent of the county has been vaccinated with the bivalent jab, which boosts immunity against the original COVID-19 virus, along with the Omicron variant and two subvariants. Sixty-one percent of those vaccinated are senior citizens.

So far, a mere 7% of U.S. adults and 2% of children have gotten the new shots. One health professional called the vax figures abysmal.

Those numbers are at least better than a few weeks ago, when 3% of the U.S. population, about 10 million of us, received the updated coronavirus vaccine. Health experts estimate it takes about two weeks after receiving a vaccination to develop adequate immunity and protection.

The figures are minor compared to the peak coronavirus years of 2020 and 2021, when hundreds were dying of the dreaded virus. Still, Lake County health department officials continue to urge residents to get flu shots, the latest COVID-19 bivalent booster to fight current strains and vaccination for RSV, respiratory syncytial virus.

RSV is a common respiratory virus that causes cold-like symptoms, but can be deadly for infants and senior citizens. Officials say now is the time to get vaxxed to prevent serious respiratory illnesses. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention strongly recommended in mid-September the upgraded vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech for everyone 6 months and older.

But Americans are disregarding the health warnings. Maybe were focused on football, or Republican presidential debates, or the Israeli-Gaza War.

We do so at our peril, health experts caution. Federal officials recommended last month that Americans get new versions of COVID-19 vaccines. Medical studies have consistently shown that COVID-19 vaccines lower the risk of getting the disease and improve protection against serious illness, hospitalization and death, health officials say.

With the worst of COVID behind us, guess we forgot what happened during the pandemic. Zoom calls, in-home schooling, masking requirements, closed movie theaters and restaurants.A few folks still wear their masks, but that number dwindles daily. Unlike the nations mortality rate during the pandemic.

Health officials point out viruses change, and vaccine effectiveness can wane over time. They say it is important to stay up-to-date on our shots.

Take it from one who came down with COVID in the spring: Its no fun.

Fever and throat pain like you gargled with razor blades, or perhaps broken glass. And I was fully vaxxed. Previous bouts with the coronavirus also mean you have some immunity from infection.

In mid-August, the Illinois Department of Public Health said wastewater surveillance detected rising COVID-19 activity. That has waned, however.

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News updates from Lake County delivered every Monday and Wednesday

State health officials say without widespread vaccinations, we could face a tripledemic of respiratory illness caused by COVID, the flu and RSV. November and December are prime times for upper respiratory diseases.

More than three years since the pandemic began, we need to keep vigilant for our own health. Political leaders should heed counsel from public health professionals if COVID infections begin increasing this winter.

As we saw beginning in spring 2020, the U.S. wasnt ready for the major outbreak which eventually killed more than 1.1 million Americans, and more than 1,000 Lake County residents. Lets make sure were ready if another catastrophic health emergency in is our near future.

As Benjamin Franklin said, An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Charles Selle is a former News-Sun reporter, political editor and editor.

sellenews@gmail.com

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Column: We ignore vaccine health advisories at our peril - Chicago Tribune

Nurses, like this critical care nurse, play a critical role in health care.

Courtesy of Oregon Health & Science University

The Oregon Health Authority would like 90% of health care workers to be vaccinated against the flu, but the state lags far behind that goal.

The agency issued an alert last week saying that 64% of health care employees are vaccinated against the virus, compared with 85% during the 2019-20 flu season. But as the pandemic deepened and spread, and people stayed home or masked in public places, vaccination rates among health care workers plummeted, and theyve yet to recover. Last flu season, 63% of health care workers got a flu vaccine.

The proportion of those declining a shot has grown from 8% during the 2019-2020 flu season to 15% now, agency data shows. The health authority doesnt know why another one-fifth of health care workers arent vaccinated. The state needs about 35,000 health care workers to get vaccinated to meet its 90% goal.

State health officials worry that infected health care workers could further sicken already ill people.

Health care workers are the first line of defense in protecting vulnerable patients and preventing a severe respiratory virus season from becoming a catastrophic one, said Rebecca Pierce, who tracks hospital infections for the agency. Thats why influenza vaccination of health care workers is a key strategy for infection control in health care facilities.

Related: Health care workers must get vaccinated or tested

The states alert coincides with the start of the flu season. Infection rates were low during the pandemic but the virus came roaring back last year, peaking in the first part of December. Health authority spokesman Jonathan Modie expects illnesses to increase in coming weeks.

Given (the) severity of last season and the potential for compounding effects of concurrently circulating respiratory viruses, it is important for health care workers to get up to date with vaccinations as soon as possible, Modie said in an email.

The state collects vaccination data from hospitals, surgery centers that provide same-day care, nursing homes and dialysis centers. Vaccination rates were lowest in in-patient psychiatric facilities and dialysis centers at 35%. Nursing home rates were also low at 41%. Hospitals had the highest rate 69% followed by surgery centers at 67%.

Modie called the rate in nursing homes especially worrying.

Nursing home residents are among the most vulnerable to developing flu-related complications, Modie said. It is critical to improve uptake in these settings.

Related: A seasonal viral stew is brewing with flu, RSV, COVID and more

Health care officials also worry about COVID, which appears to be here to stay, and another respiratory virus, RSV or respiratory syncytial virus. The latter usually causes mild cold-like symptoms. Health care officials recommend that people over 60 get an RSV vaccine, and that anyone older than 6 get a COVID booster if you can find them.

Unlike COVID, asymptomatic transmission of flu is less common, with infected people becoming the most contagious on the third and fourth day of illness. Health officials advise anyone who develops symptoms to stay home.

While most people recover from the flu in days, those with weak immune systems, including the elderly and very young, risk hospitalization and even death. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that 12,000 to 50,000 people die each year from the flu and 9 million to 41 million get sick. State health officials dont track adult deaths, but they do log pediatric figures. Two Oregon children died from the flu last season.

With the season just starting, Modie said now is a good time to get a shot to ensure protection throughout the season.

This story was originally published by the Oregon Capital Chronicle.

Oregon Capital Chronicle is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501(c)(3) public charity. Oregon Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Lynne Terry for questions: info@oregoncapitalchronicle.com. Follow Oregon Capital Chronicle on Facebook and X.

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Oregon lags behind goal of high flu vaccination rate for health care workers - Oregon Public Broadcasting

November 01, 2023

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Scientists have successfully developed the first vaccines against malaria and respiratory syncytial virus, but other vaccine targets remain.

We asked Robin C. Colgrove, MD, FIDSA, attending physician in infectious diseases at Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, what tops his list.

Colgrove: If you had asked the same question 10 years ago, a malaria vaccine might well have been the consensus answer. Now that there are two WHO-endorsed malaria vaccines, the answer depends on what you are trying to accomplish.

I go back with HIV to the beginning when I was a medical student in the early 1980s in San Francisco, when the virus was isolated. HHS Secretary Margaret Heckler made a famous comment that we would have an HIV vaccine in 2 years. Now, we are 40 years in, and there is still not a successful HIV vaccine, although we do have very good testing and very good treatment. With testing, treatment and PrEP, epidemiological models suggest that we could eliminate HIV even without a vaccine, although it would be very helpful and it is extremely disappointing that after so many trials, we still do not have one. I would put that at the top of the list in a qualified way because we have tried so hard and failed.

If you ask, in a global sense, what would make the biggest difference, though, it still would be a tuberculosis vaccine. The bacille Calmette-Gurin vaccine for TB was first administered in 1921 and is moderately effective, but it certainly has not been effective enough to drive rates of TB down. A really effective TB vaccine would make an enormous difference, but it is a very difficult task because of the biology of TB and the difficulty of getting a good immune response. Also, testing and public health-related issues make it very challenging. If you could wave a magic wand, though, and get a 100% effective vaccine against any pathogen, numerically, a TB vaccine would probably make the biggest difference.

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What is the world's top vaccine priority? - Healio

Officials at Marthas Vineyard Hospital are warning of the potential for respiratory illnesses as the Island heads into the heart of fall.

Covid-19, the flu and respiratory syncytial virus, known as RSV, can all flare up as the weather cools and people head indoors. In a press conference Wednesday, hospital leaders urged people to get their vaccines updated.

Making predictions about when theyre likely to start circulating, or how severe the season will be is very challenging. We dont have a crystal ball, said Claire Seguin, the hospitals chief nurse and vice president of operations. I can say that in the fall of 2022, in particular, we had a very severe and early RSV season with a large impact, especially on the pediatric population.

Ms. Seguin anticipated an uptick in respiratory illnesses around Thanksgiving, but said reported cases of the flu and RSV are currently low. A Covid-19 spike from the end of the summer has also come down.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, however, is forecasting a similar number of hospitalizations this year when compared to last season. From October 2022 to September 2023, Marthas Vineyard Hospital saw 139 cases of Covid, 48 cases of RSV.

RSV is a common respiratory virus that usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms, but can be serious for infants and older adults.

Vaccinations remain a critical tool to protect against these diseases, said Dr. Ellen McMahon. She encouraged people to get an annual flu shot and the updated Covid vaccine. There are two new RSV vaccines, including one for people over 60 and those who are pregnant, as well as an antibody prophylactic treatment for newborns and high risk older infants and toddlers.

The single best way to prevent flu and to reduce the risk of severe disease and hospitalization is to get an annual flu vaccine, said Dr. McMahon. When you get vaccinated, you also protect people around you who are at higher risk for complications from the flu.

People who receive care through the hospital can sign up for both vaccines through the hospitals online portal or by calling the hospital call center. Hospital officials suggested patients who get care elsewhere to contact retail pharmacies and community clinics for vaccine appointments.

Vaccines generally have no out-of-pocket costs at the hospital, Ms. Seguin said.

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Martha's Vineyard News | Hospital Urges Vaccinations as Winter ... - The Vineyard Gazette - Martha's Vineyard News

November 01, 2023

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Patients with asthma, COPD and interstitial lung disease have reduced SARS-CoV-2 vaccine-specific antibody, B-cell and T-cell responses, which signals poorer protection against COVID-19, according to results published in ERJ Open Research.

R. Lee Reinhardt

The findings suggest that what we understand about how the vaccine protects healthy individuals may not be broadly applicable to patients with underlying lung conditions, R. Lee Reinhardt, PhD, associate professor in the department of immunology and genomic medicine at National Jewish Health, told Healio. This highlights a need for clinicians to consider varied vaccination schemes to ensure their patients with asthma, COPD or ILD maintain sufficient anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody and/or memory B cells and T cells to protect against severe COVID-19.

Using blood samples and deep immune phenotyping, Reinhardt and colleagues assessed humoral and cell-mediated responses to a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in nine patients (mean age, 58 years; 56% women) with asthma, eight patients (mean age, 64 years; 62% women) with COPD and 15 patients (mean age, 62 years; 60% women) with ILD against 31 healthy patients (mean age, 50 years; 45% women).

Researchers found lower antibody titers to the vaccine antigen in about half (48.3%) of all those with a lung condition 3 to 4 months after the last vaccine administration compared with those observed in the healthy controls. Specifically, those with asthma (P < .035) and those with COPD (P < .022) showed significantly lower antibody titers, as did 40% of the patients with ILD.

We did not expect that a majority of patients with underlying lung conditions (asthma, COPD, ILD) would exhibit an impaired vaccine response, Reinhardt told Healio.

Three to 5 months after vaccination, fewer patients with a chronic lung disease achieved good blocking of ACE2-mFc compared with healthy patients (22% vs. 94%), demonstrating the possibility of poor humoral protection in these patients, according to the researchers.

Notably, a reduced vaccine-specific antibody response corresponded to fewer vaccine-specific memory B cells in patients with asthma, COPD or ILD. Those with ILD (P < .012) and asthma (P < .032) showed significantly fewer receptor-binding domain B cells than healthy controls, whereas patients with COPD on average showed fewer of these B cells than healthy controls.

When evaluating memory T cells, patients with a lung disease vs. patients classified as healthy had decreased responsiveness (asthma: CD8+, P < .004; CD4+, P < .023; COPD: CD8+, P < .008). Among those with ILD, researchers found limited CD8+ T-cell responses in 21.4% of the cohort and weak CD4+ responses in 42.9% of patients.

Researchers additionally observed heterogeneity between the groups in terms of their cytokine profiles, such that bulk CD8+ T cells that were interferon gamma-competent were only significantly elevated among patients with COPD compared with controls (P < .012) and the percentage of IL-2-producing bulk CD8+ T cells were significantly lower among patients with asthma compared with controls (P < .014). Researchers noted even greater heterogeneity in vaccine-specific follicular T-helper cells.

Lastly, vaccine-elicited antibody responses did not correlate with T-cell responses, and this was an unexpected finding, Reinhardt told Healio.

Specifically, some individuals mount a productive antibody response to the vaccine but do not mount a similarly protective T-cell response, Reinhardt said. In contrast, some patients appear to mount a productive T-cell response but lack protective serum antibodies. This suggests that the immune response to the vaccine may vary in individuals with underlying lung conditions that are distinct from what has been observed in healthy individuals.

I think this work highlights that more heterogeneity exists in the vaccine response to SARS-CoV-2 than was previously appreciated, Reinhardt added. Clinical trials and research efforts must take into account how patients with underlying medical conditions may respond differently after vaccination. With more deep immune phenotyping of both B-cell and T-cell responses after vaccination, the research can better inform clinicians on how best to care for unique patient populations.

In terms of future studies, Reinhardt said two ideas need to be investigated to help those with respiratory conditions.

First, we need to understand why individuals with underlying lung conditions are not responding to the SAR-CoV-2 vaccine in the same manner as healthy controls, he said. This will help in the development of better clinical care. Second, we need to understand if the impaired vaccine response to SARS-CoV-2 extends to other vaccines critical to the welfare of these patients such as the seasonal flu vaccine and the respiratory syncytial virus vaccine. This could provide long-term insight into how best to approach vaccination of more vulnerable patient populations.

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Disclosures: Reinhardt reports receiving support from a National Jewish Medicine department of medicine MOOR microgrant award. Please see the study for all other authors relevant financial disclosures.

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Patients with asthma, COPD, ILD have reduced COVID vaccine ... - Healio

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A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention committee voted Wednesday to recommend the routine use of Bavarian Nordics mpox vaccine in at-risk adults, paving the way for commercialization and issuing people a reminder that the virus is still circulating after last years outbreak.

The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted to recommend adults at risk of mpox infection receive two shots of Bavarian Nordics Jynneos vaccine on a routine basis.

The panel had previously endorsed the vaccine for use in people at risk of mpox infection during outbreaks only.

Under the previous recommendation, mpox vaccine delivery was covered by the United States government and there were limited opportunities for Bavarian Nordic to commercialize Jynneos.

The recommendations will now be passed to CDC director Mandy Cohen for final approval.

Pending approval, Danish biotech Bavarian Nordic said it is aiming at a commercial launch for Jynneos in the U.S. in the first half of 2024.

Bavarian Nordic CEO Paul Chaplin said the panels recommendation recognizes the significance of maintaining a high awareness of the disease among risk groups and the importance of ensuring broader access to the vaccine beyond an outbreak situation.

The ACIP vote, reportedly unanimous at 14-0, is not set to be the committees final word on Jynneos. If passed, the group said its recommendation will only provide interim guidance that will be revisited in two to three years. At that point, the virus spread will be evaluated and the costs and benefits of vaccination weighed, it said. The group also noted that clinical trials for Jynneos are underway for teens ages 12 to 17 years, as the shot is only authorized for use in adults.

Mpox, formerly called monkeypox, was known about for decades but rarely seen apart from sporadic outbreaks in some regions of Africa and occasional cases linked to peopleor wildlifethat had been there. The virus, a relative of the eradicated scourge smallpox, largely spreads through close contact with infected people and animals or with contaminated items and surfaces. It can cause painful skin lesions that can last for weeks and, in some cases, kill. It spread globally in the summer of 2022, primarily among men who have sex with men, which revealed a new mode of transmission and symptoms. The World Health Organization declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern in July and as the virus had been ignored by much of the world for so long, there were few countermeasures to target mpox directly. Vaccines like Jynneos that were primarily designed with smallpox in mind were deployed to combat the outbreak, though access to these was not equally distributed and supplies were limited. Since the start of last year, there have been more than 30,000 mpox cases in the U.S. and 54 deaths, according to the CDC, with more than 91,000 cases and 166 confirmed deaths globally. While health agencies have rescinded emergency warnings for mpox, the virus still circulates, particularly in areas with limited access to vaccines and in parts of Africa where outbreaks are still a concern.

2 million. Thats how many people Bavarian Nordic say are eligible for mpox vaccination under the panels recommendations, citing CDC estimates. Bavarian Nordic said only 23% of this group has received the recommended regimen of two shots during the 2022/2023 outbreak, leaving a significant number of people vulnerable to infection with mpox.

Guidelines for who is considered at risk of infection are in line with previous advice. Those considered at risk are people who are gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men or transgender or nonbinary people. Additionally, in the past six months, at-risk people should have had either a new diagnosis for a sexually transmitted infection, more than one sex partner, sex at a commercial sex venue or sex linked to a large public event in a geographic area where mpox transmission is occurring. Sexual partners of people who meet these criteria and people who anticipate meeting them are also considered at risk of infection and eligible for vaccination, according to documents from the CDC meeting.

As Monkeypox Spreads, Heres Who Should Get A VaccineAnd How (Forbes)

The doctor who warned the world of the mpox outbreak of 2022 is still worried (NPR)

I am a senior reporter for the Forbes breaking news team, covering health and science from the London office. Previously I worked as a reporter for a trade publication covering big data and law and as a freelance journalist and policy analyst covering science, tech and health. I have masters degrees in Biological Natural Sciences and the History and Philosophy of Science from Downing College, Cambridge University. Follow me on Twitter @theroberthart or get in touch at rhart@forbes.com

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CDC Advisors Recommend Mpox Shots For Routine Prevention Among At-Risk AdultsHeres What To Know - Forbes

Gay and bisexual men at high risk for mpox infection should get vaccinated for the virus even after the current outbreak ends, government health advisers said Wednesday.

The committees recommendation now goes to the director to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and if she signs off on it is sent out as guidance to U.S. doctors.

More than 30,000 U.S. mpox cases were reported last year. The numberdropped dramatically this year, to about 800. But because the virus doesnt naturally circulate in the U.S., any single case counts as an outbreak, according to the CDC.

Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, is caused by a virus thats in the same family as the one that causes smallpox. It is endemic in parts of Africa, where people have been infected through bites from rodents or small animals.

The virus was not known to spread easily among people, but casesexplodedin Europe and the U.S. in the spring and summer of 2022, mostly among men who have sex with men. Deaths were rare, but many people suffered painful skin lesions for weeks.

A two-dose vaccine, Jynneos, became a primary weapon in the U.S. Itsrecommendedprimarily for men who have sex with men who have more than one sex partner, who have recently had a sexually transmitted disease, or who are at higher risk for infections through sexual contact for other reasons.

About 500,000 people in the U.S. have gotten the recommended two doses of the vaccine, about a quarter of the 2 million who are eligible, CDC officials said.

The new recommendation may serve to remind people the virus is still out there, and that people can be infected during international travel, CDC officials said.

The daily average of new U.S. cases is one to four per day, though some people likely arent being diagnosed, CDC officials said. Two deaths were reported in September, bringing the total to 54 in the U.S. since mpox hit last year.

San Francisco had more than 800 cases last year, but the count dropped to an average of only one per month in the first half this of year. The number of cases rose to seven in August, 20 last month and at least 10 so far this month.

Things are much better than they were last summer, said Dr. Stephanie Cohen, who oversees STD prevention work at San Franciscos health department. But there are (still) many more cases than there should be.

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Mpox vaccinations should be recommended for high-risk men, even after outbreak ends, advisers say - NBC News

The vaccine is designed to help produce anti-cocaine antibodies in the body of a person who is chemically dependent on the substance.

Scientists in Brazil have announced the development of an innovative new vaccine to treat addiction to cocaine and its powerful derivative, crack.

Dubbed "Calixcoca," the treatment, which has shown promising results in trials on animals, triggers an immune response that blocks cocaine and crack from reaching the brain. In simple terms, the vaccine would work by preventing addicts from getting high from the drug.

Researchers involved in the project hope it will help users break the cycle of addiction.

According to Frederico Garcia, a psychiatrist and coordinator of the project at the Federal University of Minas Gerais in Brazil, if the treatment gets regulatory approval, it would mark the first time cocaine addiction is treated using a vaccine.

Last week, the project won the top prize of 500,000 at the Euro Health Innovation Awards for Latin American medicine which was sponsored by pharmaceutical firm Eurofarma.

The vaccine works by triggering patients' immune systems to produce antibodies that bind to cocaine molecules in the bloodstream, making them too large to pass into the brain's mesolimbic system, or "reward centre," where the drug normally stimulates high levels of pleasure-inducing dopamine.

Similar studies have been carried out in the United States which is the world's top cocaine consumer according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

But these efforts stalled when clinical trials did not demonstrate sufficient results, among other reasons, Garcia said.

Calixcoca has so far proven effective in testing on animals, producing significant levels of antibodies against cocaine and few side effects.

Researchers also found that it protected rat fetuses against cocaine suggesting that it could be used in humans to protect the unborn babies of pregnant addicts.

The vaccine is now set to enter the final stage of trials: testing on humans.

Garcia says Calixcoca could reshape addiction treatment.

"There's no specific registered treatment for cocaine and crack addiction. We currently use a combination of psychological counseling, social assistance and rehabilitation, when necessary," he said.

Garcia believes Calixcoca could add an important tool to that regimen by helping patients at critical stages of recovery, such as when they leave rehab.

The vaccine is made with chemical compounds designed in the lab, rather than biological ingredients, meaning it would be less expensive to produce than many vaccines and would not have to be stored at cold temperatures.

Still Garcia warns that it won't be a "panacea" that can be administered to anyone.

The exact target group will depend on the outcome of clinical trials, but is theoretically meant to be recovering addicts "who are off (cocaine) and want to stay that way," he said.

The goal is to change what Garcia calls a "sad statistic".

According to the US National Institute on Drug Abuse, one in four regular cocaine users becomes addicted.

And just one in four addicts manages to quit after five years of treatment.

Given the stakes, anticipation around the vaccine is high. More than 3,000 people have contacted Garcia's team to volunteer to take part in the clinical trials.

For more on this story, watch the video in the media player above.

Video editor Aisling N Chlin

Originally posted here:

Scientists in Brazil are developing the first vaccine that could help break cocaine addiction - Euronews

In an attempt to expand its portfolio, Moderna (MRNA) is developing an updated COVID-19 vaccine that could also provide protection against the seasonal flu. Piper Sandler Managing Director and Senior Biotechnology Analyst Ted Tenthoff joins Yahoo Finance Live to discuss the value this new vaccine presents for Moderna as a company and patients worldwide.

"We're clearly seeing that vaccination rates are low," Tenthoff says. "So, it could be... our current guidance is they've recently said within the low end of that $6 to $8 [billion] range. That's still positive, bringing in $6 billion a year for a company that before the pandemic was bringing in... a couple hundred million. This is still a meaningful product for Moderna."

For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Yahoo Finance Live.

- --an updated COVID-19 shot they introduced in September, what do you think the financial impact is going to be there for the company? What do you expect demand to be like there?

TED TENTHOFF: Yeah. So, again, they originally guided 6 to 8 billion this year really contingent on somewhere around $2 billion of US vaccination revenues. We're clearly seeing that vaccination rates are low. So it could be, you know, our current guidance is, they've recently said, within the low end of that 6 to 8 range.

That's still positive, you know, bringing in $6 billion a year for a company that before the pandemic was bringing in a couple hundred million. This is still a meaningful product for Moderna and will be an important vaccine for the company and for, really, the world, especially if we face heightened or worse COVID seasons.

You know, it's going to be kind of like the flu vaccine, where especially people who are at risk, whether they're immunocompromised or elderly, still should be getting their COVID vaccine. So we really do project that out at a couple billion, probably below this year's guidance, for the next several years.

Story continues

- And, Ted, sort of more broadly as well, when you look at the attention on respiratory diseases that came as a result of the pandemic, of course, Moderna was only one of the companies that was trying to address that. So when you look at the attempt to treat respiratory diseases like COVID, like RSV, you know-- let's throw the flu in there as well, how do you view the space there and sort of that competitive landscape?

TED TENTHOFF: Yeah, well, it's-- these are really important products. So RSV, for example, really impacts the elderly, you know, typically, people in their 70-plus years of age. Obviously, flu is still a huge burden. And as many as 30,000-- 25,000 to 30,000 people die every year from flu. There's also other vaccines that could be-- like, for example, RSV impacts younger kids too and is actually one of the primary reasons for young children to go to the doctors and even 200-some thousand hospitalizations a year and can cause wheezing.

So these are very important vaccines. I think one of the interesting things that Moderna is doing is starting to combine these vaccines. One of the really exciting things about mRNA is you can fit a lot of different antigens within a single vaccine. So, for example, they can have your one or two COVID antigens plus the four or more flu vaccines.

So actually, in 2025, rather than getting a COVID vaccine and a flu vaccine, you'll be able to get a single shot. And I really do think that moves the ball-- you know, moves the ball forward in terms of improving compliance and vaccination rates, especially, again, in these at-risk populations like the elderly.

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What an updated COVID vaccine will mean for Moderna - Yahoo Finance

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Adverse Events Following mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine in 2021 and 2022: A Retrospective Analysis in Costa Rica and Italy - Cureus