Vaccination and Immunization

Investigators of a study published in Annals of Internal Medicine concluded that the BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccine demonstrated efficacy against the Delta and Omicron variants of COVID-19 in children and adolescents, offering new, extended follow-up period data.

Todd Wolynn, MD, continues the discussion on egg-based vs cell-based influenza vaccines in pediatric populations, commenting on the limitations and concerns with traditional egg-based formulations.

Todd Wolynn, MD, reviews influenza vaccination recommendations for pediatric populations, highlighting the egg-based and cell-based formulations.

The estimated efficacy of the vaccine against documented infection for children and adolescents during the Omicron wave was 74.3% and 85.5%, respectively.

An expert pediatrician discusses the complications that arise from pediatric influenza, such as pneumonia and exacerbation of chronic illness.

Todd Wolynn, MD, talks about the spread of influenza among children and their communities.

Tina Tan, MD, FAAP, FIDSA, FPIDS, discusses vaccine hesitancy and hopes to increase vaccination for preventable diseases in 2024.

The unprecedented demand for nirsevimab-alip has resulted in a dramatic uptake in production of this RSV vaccine.

A recently published study on 17 million children found combined flu and COVID-19 vaccines offered superior protection against hospitalization, MIS-C, and death during the pandemic.

Overall, the study authors concluded that the immunogenicity of QIV and TIV was similar for common influenza ingredients for children aged 6 to 35 months.

Ravi Jhaveri, MD, shares approaches to addressing common concerns among parents and guardians regarding the flu vaccine for children.

Ravi Jhaveri, MD, discusses challenges in patient access to flu vaccines, and comments on the need to increase opportunities for vaccination for all pediatric patients.

The US approval makes VLA1553 (Ixchiq; Valneva) the world’s first licensed chikungunya vaccine.

The FDA was made aware some health care providers had administered the full single dose vial of the vaccine, which contains “notably more” volume than the 0.25 mL volume indicated for children aged 6 months to 11 years.

Donna Hallas, PhD, PPCNP-BC, CPNP, PMHS, FAANP, FAAN, shares her thoughts on the Contemporary Pediatrics' October 2023 vaccine issue.

The combination vaccine candidates demonstrated a safety profile consistent with Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine. A phase 3 trial is anticipated to commence in the coming months, according to a press release from Pfizer.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is advising providers to prioritize 100 mg doses of nirsevimab, a monoclonal antibody FDA-approved to prevent respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), for infants at the highest risk of severe RSV disease.

The FDA approval could simplify meningococcal vaccine schedules while providing broad serogroup coverage.

Parents who reported the stigmatizing belief “My child is not having sex” were much more likely to rely on health care providers as a source of information than parents who did not report this belief.

At IDweek 2023, Flor Munoz, MD, MSc, provided an update on maternal Group B Streptococcus (GBS).

At IDWeek 2023, several authors share a study on mother-infant pairs, evaluating for differences in rates of influenza infections in infants.

A look at recent approvals and promising clinical trials for future vaccines.

Individuals 12 years and older can now receive the Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine, Adjuvanted (2023-2024 Formula) (NVX-CoV2601) to protect against variants that are currently circulating, after receiving an Emergency Use Authorization from the FDA.

*Co-first authorship was earned, as each equally contributed to the methodical and rigorous review of the literature, writing, and editing of this article.

Tocilizumab-bavi (Tofidence; Biogen) demonstrated a biosimilarity to tocilizumab (Actemra; Genentech) based on multifaceted clinical and non-clinical data for polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis (PJIA) and systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (sJIA) in children aged 2 years and up. This makes it the first tocilizumab biosimilar to be FDA-approved in the United States, according to Biogen.