Vaccine News

Sandra Levy, senior editor of Drug Store News, conducted a digital conversation with Tim Ducharme, vice president of Immunization Growth and Strategy at CVS Health®.

This discussion, posted on YouTube on October 28, 2024, centered around the company’s vaccination business and its offerings for the respiratory virus season, and how it is working with patients to help them schedule any immunizations ahead of time.

Ducharme highlighted three areas of focus: appointment scheduling, vaccine availability, patient access issues and opportunities.

He also discusses how CVS is working to educate patients about the 2024-2025 respiratory season, which includes RSV and influenza. Various vaccines are available for these diseases.

Product delivery, available through the more than 9,000 CVS Pharmacy locations across the U.S., is a core component of the company’s digital offerings and efforts to meet consumers’ unique health and wellness needs.

Although the risk for locally acquired malaria in the United States remains very low, its reemergence highlights the importance of vectorborne disease preparedness and response.

On October 24, 2024, the U.S. CDC published MMWR 73(42);946–949 confirmed ten local cases identified in Arkansas, Florida, Maryland, and Texas in 2023.

So far, in 2024, the CDC has confirmed 1,576 travel-related malaria cases, with New York City leading with 220. About 240 people with malaria are reported each year in NYC.

However, the CDC has not reported any local malaria cases this year.

The WHO African Region shoulders the heaviest burden of malaria disease. When visiting malaria-endemic areas, the CDC recommends avoiding mosquito bites and bringing appropriate medications on your trip.

As of October 28, 2024, malaria vaccines are offered in Africa and Europe.

The U.S. CDC's Influenza Surveillance Report: Key Updates for Week #42 says, 'Season influenza activity remains low nationally.'

Influenza is among several respiratory diseases, such as respiratory syncytial virus, currently circulating in the 2024-2025 flu season.

As of October 25, 2024, of the 97 viruses reported by public health laboratories, 94 were influenza A and 3 were influenza B. Of the 63 influenza A viruses subtyped during Week 42, 37 (58.7%) were influenza A(H1N1)pdm09, and 26 (41.3%) were A(H3N2).

The CDC recommends that everyone six months and older get an annual flu shot, ideally by the end of October. Over 92 million flu shots have been distributed in the U.S. and are offered at local pharmacies.

Throughout 2024, the world has faced a record number of dengue virus outbreaks. To alert international travelers, the World Health Organization has classified dengue as a grade 3 emergency.

However, the continental United States has remained largely unaffected by this mosquito-borne outbreak.

In the U.S., Florida has reported local dengue cases for several years, while California had only two cases in 2023.

In recent months, Los Angeles has confirmed nine local dengue cases, and San Diego has reported two, bringing the total to eleven cases in California this year.

As reported by the San Diego HHS Agency on October 25, 2024, the second locally acquired dengue case in San Diego County has been confirmed in a Vista resident who became sick and was hospitalized. This person is not associated with the Escondido case.

Nationwide, the U.S. CDC has confirmed 6,494 travel and local-related cases in 50 states this year. Many of these local dengue cases (3,877) have been reported in Puerto Rico, with the San Juan region reporting about 1,400 cases.

And in the Region of the Americas, which includes the U.S., over 12 million cases and 7,289 related deaths in the Americas in 2024.

While Dengue is a vaccine-preventable disease, the U.S. is one of a limited number of countries not offering a vaccine at the end of 2024.

Recently, the World Health Organization and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention identified Rift Valley fever as a priority disease.

To address this need, a promising vaccine candidate against the potentially deadly Rift Valley fever is set to begin Phase II trials in Kenya. ChAdOx1 RVF is the most advanced stage of testing a human Rift Valley fever vaccine candidate.

While Rift Valley fever vaccines have been registered for animals, no vaccines are available for human use.

ChAdOx1 RVF has already shown positive results in the first stage of clinical trials conducted in the UK. The trial demonstrated that the vaccine was safe and well-tolerated in volunteers who received a single shot of the vaccine, and that it elicited high levels of neutralising antibodies which block viral infection and mediate protection against the virus.

Studies have also shown that the vaccine protects against Rift Valley fever in multiple livestock species, suggesting that it could be used for both people and livestock.

“Rift Valley fever disproportionately affects the lives and livelihoods of vulnerable pastoral communities, potentially causing both human fatalities and large-scale livestock losses,” said Dr. Richard Hatchett, CEO of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), in a press release.

Rift Valley fever, a mosquito-borne disease, usually occurs in people following direct contact with infected animals or bites from infected mosquitoes. The virus spreads from the female mosquitoes to the eggs. As more mosquitoes hatch, the potential for the virus to spread directly to animals and people increases.

While the majority of people infected experience mild disease, a small proportion develops the severe hemorrhagic form, which can cause blindness, convulsions, encephalitis, and bleeding, and mortality rates of up to 50%.

CEPI and the University of Oxford are committed to enabling access to vaccine outputs developed through this partnership, which aligns with CEPI’s Equitable Access Policy. 

According to the U.S. government, malaria was eliminated from the United States in 1951, and almost all recent cases in the U.S. have been travel-associated.

As of the week ending October 19, 2024 (#42), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed 1,576 travel-related malaria cases this year.

Most malaria cases are confirmed in New York, Florida, California, and Texas.

These cases were associated with travel to 85 countries where malaria remains endemic, such as Africa, and could represent a potential source of Plasmodium infection for locally acquired mosquito-transmitted cases in the U.S.

On October 24, 2024, the CDC reported (73(42);946–949) ten local malaria cases from May to September 2023. In Florida, seven locally acquired malaria cases were reported near Sarasota in 2023.

The CDC says that before traveling internationally to areas where malaria is endemic, travelers should consult with their healthcare provider regarding recommended malaria prevention measures to reduce personal and community risks.

While two malaria vaccines are WHO-recommended, neither are available in the U.S. in 2024.

GSK's Susan Gerber, M.D., Medical Director, today confirmed that about 9 million people in the United States have been vaccinated with AREXVY, a vaccine indicated for active immunization to prevent lower respiratory tract disease (LRTD) caused by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

During the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices meeting on October 24, 2024, Dr. Gerber reaffirmed that protecting vulnerable individuals at high risk for severe RSV disease is essential ahead of this year's RSV season.

GSK also announced new preliminary data for AREXVY in adults aged 18-49 at increased risk for LRTD caused by RSV due to certain underlying medical conditions and in adults who are immunocompromised.

These data show the vaccine’s potential to help protect a broader group of adults at risk from the potentially serious consequences of RSV.

This U.S. FDA-approved RSV vaccine has been approved to prevent RSV-LRTD in individuals 60 years of age and older in more than 50 countries, including Europe and Japan.