Top in ID: RSV vaccine approval; Biden to name new CDC chief

The FDA has recently approved Pfizer’s respiratory syncytial virus vaccine, branded as Abrysvo, for adults aged 60 years or older.

According to data published in The New England Journal of Medicine, the vaccine was 66.7% effective in preventing illness with two or more symptoms and 85.7% effective in preventing illness with three or more symptoms. It was the top story in infectious disease last week.

Another top story was about recent reports that former North Carolina secretary of health Mandy K. Cohen, MD, MPH, is expected to replace Rochelle P. Walensky, MD, MPH, as director of the CDC.

Read these and more top stories in infectious disease below:

FDA approves Pfizer’s RSV vaccine for older adults

The FDA approved Pfizer’s RSV vaccine for adults aged 60 years or older — the second RSV vaccine approved for this population in the last month. Read more.

Biden expected to name former NC health secretary as new CDC chief

President Joe Biden is set to announce former North Carolina secretary of health Mandy K. Cohen, MD, MPH, as the next director of the CDC, according to multiple reports. Read more.

Sick workers implicated in 40% of foodborne outbreaks, CDC data show

Roughly 40% of foodborne illness outbreaks in the United States are caused by a sick or infectious food worker despite most food establishments having policies against employees coming to work when ill, data show. Read more.

Prevalence of common flu symptoms varies by patient age

Global data indicate that some common influenza symptoms increase with age as others decrease, researchers found. Read more.

Patients hospitalized with COVID-19 receive unnecessary antibiotics, study finds

Researchers found that patients hospitalized with COVID-19 received antibiotics for potential secondary bacterial infections without clinical indications suggesting they could benefit from the treatment. Read more.