(1/4)Employees work to manufacture Pfizer’s new respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine, Abrysvo, in this undated photo. Pfizer/document via REUTERS Acquire license rights
WASHINGTON, Nov 28 (Reuters) – Senior Biden administration officials met with makers of RSV vaccines for children this week to emphasize the need to tap manufacturers such as Sanofi. (SASY.PA) and AstraZeneca (AZN.L) to urgently meet demand as winter approaches, the White House announced Tuesday.
At a White House meeting Monday, officials and manufacturers also agreed to plan now to meet next year’s demand for vaccines targeting the respiratory syncytial virus, which typically causes mild symptoms, similar to those of the common cold, but can progress to serious illness in infants and the elderly. adults.
“Monday’s meeting follows numerous in-person and virtual meetings to explore ways that manufacturers could make more RSV vaccines available for infants,” the White House said in a statement.
“We remain, with our alliance partner AstraZeneca, in charge of manufacturing, in close contact with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration, as well as with the White House, to explore solutions to respond to this exceptional demand and actively plan for the 2024-2025 season,” a Sanofi spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
Separately, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it has accelerated the release of more than 77,000 additional doses of Beyfortus, the RSV drug from Sanofi and AstraZeneca, which was approved earlier this year to prevent the disease in infants and young children.
RSV cases in the United States began a sharp upward trend in mid-October and were at the highest level since January last winter with 4,952 cases detected through testing in the week ended November 4, according to the CDC website.
Reporting by Susan Heavey and Ahmed Aboulenein; Additional reporting by Mike Erman in New York; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Stephen Coates
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