The race to an RSV vaccine could soon be over, decades after the first attempt The FDA is poised to approve multiple RSV vaccines this year. The leading candidates are for older adults, but shots to protect infants are in the pipeline. NBC News

Roughly six decades after the first attempt to develop a vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus, the Food and Drug Administration is poised to approve several shots by next winter.

Omicron hospital illness 54% deadlier than flu hospital cases, study finds Adults hospitalized with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron infections in Switzerland died at 1.5 times the rate of those diagnosed as having influenza A or B. CIDRAP

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Analysis of a subgroup of patients hospitalized primarily for COVID-19 or flu found that the risk of death was 2.5 times higher, and the likelihood of ICU admission was 1.7 times higher, among Omicron than flu patients.

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Long-COVID patients report job, money issues in addition to lingering symptoms CIDRAP

Long-COVID patients have higher rates of unemployment and underemployment than their recovered peers and are likely to have persistent or new-onset symptoms, disabilities, and financial problems in the 6 months after hospitalization, according to two US studies published in JAMA Network Open. ...

Asthma patients report worse asthma control after COVID-19 People with asthma experienced worse control of their asthma after they had recovered from mild to moderate COVID-19. CIDRAP

People with asthma in Hong Kong experienced worse control of their asthma after they had recovered from mild to moderate COVID-19, according to findings yesterday in Respiratory Research.

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Five Priorities For Global Pandemic Preparedness - Health Policy Watch On 27 February, World Health Organization member states will meet to commence formal negotiations on a global pandemic preparedness agreement – unofficially Health Policy Watch

On 27 February, World Health Organization member states will meet to commence formal negotiations on a global pandemic preparedness agreement – unofficially turning the page from responding to COVID-19 to readying ourselves for future health emergencies.

Moderna says its COVID vaccine will remain free for all consumers, even those uninsured Moderna has announced it will provide its COVID vaccine for free to people without insurance, even after government money dries up. ABC News ABC News

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"Everyone in the United States will have access to Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine regardless of their ability to pay," the company said in a statement.

A rare Marburg outbreak sparks a race against time to test vaccines and drugs Finding out if Marburg vaccine candidates actually work in people requires an outbreak, and outbreaks are blessedly rare. But now there are cases in Equatorial Guinea. Helen Branswell STAT

A Marburg fever outbreak in Equatorial Guinea is galvanizing efforts to test drugs and vaccines for a virus that currently has none. But every day counts, warned experts who gathered virtually on Tuesday to try to chart a course for the work.

Bird flu spreads to new countries, threatens non-stop "war" on poultry Avian flu has reached new corners of the globe and become endemic for the first time in some wild birds that transmit the virus to poultry, according to veterinarians and disease experts, who warn it is now a year-round problem. Tom Polansek Reuters

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