Top in ID: FDA approves adult pneumococcal vaccine; Healio interviews CDC director

The FDA has approved Capvaxive, Merck’s 21-valent pneumococcal vaccine, which is specifically made to protect adults.

The vaccine was approved after several phase 3 studies showed it created a strong immune response in both vaccine-naive and vaccine-experienced adults.

“Many cases of adult disease are caused by serotypes not included in other approved pneumococcal conjugate vaccines,” Walter A. Orenstein, MD, professor emeritus of medicine, epidemiology, global health and pediatrics at Emory University and member of Merck’s scientific advisory committee, said in a press release. “Capvaxive is designed to include the serotypes that cause the majority of invasive pneumococcal disease in adults, helping to protect adults against invasive pneumococcal disease and pneumococcal pneumonia.”

The approval was the top story in infectious disease last week.

In another top story, Healio connected with CDC Director Mandy K. Cohen, MD, MPH, who discussed the agency’s efforts to improve its health messaging and modernize public health data systems.

Read these and more top stories in infectious disease below:

FDA approves Merck’s pneumococcal vaccine for adults

The FDA has approved Merck’s 21-valent pneumococcal vaccine, which is specifically made for adults, the company announced. Read more.

Q&A: A checkup with CDC Director Mandy K. Cohen, MD, MPH

Healio checked in with CDC Director Mandy K. Cohen, MD, MPH, for an update on the agency’s efforts to modernize the nation’s disease surveillance and data systems and improve how the CDC communicates with the public and physicians. Read more.

AI could help speed antibiotic selection for sepsis

An AI system correctly chose antibiotics for sepsis treatment faster than the standard method using blood cultures, according to a study presented at ASM Microbe. Read more.

Instructions for cleaning medical instruments need overhaul, experts say

The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) recently called for an overhaul to medical device cleaning instructions based on a survey that revealed confusion, inconsistency and potential danger. Read more.

VIDEO: Hooked on ID with Connie Steed, MSN, RN, CIC, FAPIC

Healio caught up with Connie Steed, MSN, RN, CIC, FAPIC, at APIC’s annual meeting to find out how she got into infection prevention and control as a career. Steed, an infection prevention consultant and APIC’s immediate past president, was honored with the 2024 Carole DeMille Achievement Award for her more than 4 decades in infection prevention. Watch here.