Two New Vaccines

There have been scattered reports about increasing Covid cases. As explained in the previous blog article, case counts are unreliable now so hospital admissions are the best statistic to watch. This statistic shows a 15% uptick in August 2023 in Canada and a 24% increase in the U.S.

Hospitalized Covid patients Canada  

Daily Covid hospital admissions U.S.

A rapidly rising Omicron subvariant EG.5 (“Eris”) which is circulating in many countries was designated as a “variant of interest” by the World Health Organization (WHO) on August 9, 2023. It is now becoming the dominant variant in the U.S.

Variant Proportions

EG.5 is a variant in the XBB branch of Covid mutations which have been the main variants in circulation in Canada and the U.S. since they started to spread rapidly in January 2023. XBB is a mutation of the Omicron variant. The original Omicron variant is no longer in circulation.

Covid-19 Mutations

However, Pfizer and Moderna are developing new vaccines that target these Covid subvariants.

It’s generally recommended that you don’t get a Covid booster until 6 months after your last booster or Covid infection, whichever is later. If you are due for a booster, it is probably better to wait for the new Covid vaccines which promise to be more effective against the current variants that are circulating. While Pfizer and Moderna expect to have their new vaccines ready by September, with the typical delays in getting approvals they likely will not be available until October.

On the vaccine front, more exciting news than the improved Covid vaccines is the new vaccine for RSV. 

RSV is Respiratory Syncytial Virus, a common respiratory virus that causes cold-like symptoms. It is seasonal lung infection, a common childhood illness that can also affect adults. Most cases are mild and last only 3 to 7 days but a severe infection can lead to pneumonia.

RSV is highly contagious. After an infected person sneezes or coughs, you can get the airborne virus through your eyes, nose or mouth. RSV can survive on hard surfaces so if you touch something like a counter or a toy that has the virus on it and then touch your face or mouth, you can get infected. 

Severe RSV can be unpredictable and is the leading cause of hospitalization in infants. Adults 65 and over and adults with chronic conditions or weakened immune systems are at high risk for developing severe RSV.

Autumn 2022 saw a surge in RSV cases in children and adults. It was a “tripledemic” year of RSV, Covid and influenza. This pattern is expected to repeat in Fall of 2023.

But … 

A new vaccine for RSV has just been approved!
(FDA May 2023, Health Canada August 2023)

The clinical trial results for the RSV vaccine Arexvy were pretty impressive:
82% efficacy in preventing lower respiratory tract disease caused by RSV and efficacy of 94% in older adults with one or more underlying medical condition.
Health Canada approves RSV vaccine

This is the first vaccine for RSV after decades of research. Scientists started working on a vaccine soon after RSV was discovered in 1956, but some disastrous clinical trials in the 1960s that led to the deaths of several children and more failed attempts later stymied progress for years.
RSV vaccines are finally here

With the onset of winter 2024, we could be heading into another tripledemic year of seasonal respiratory illness, but you can counter that with triple vaccinations – flu, Covid and RSV. To get an RSV vaccination, contact your doctor.