Respiratory Infections

A reflection on the wins and setbacks in the second year of our pandemic, 2021.

Clinical and public health laboratories reported increased influenza virus detections over the past few weeks, but US cases remains comparatively low to previous flu seasons.

Lower-dose amoxicillin was noninferior to higher doses for treating children diagnosed with community-acquired pneumonia, according to a new study that also showed that shorter treatment duration was noninferior to longer treatment duration.

Analysis documents 9% rise in shots distributed after federal officials pushed for vaccination.

The FDA has approved patients 6 months and older to receive Seqirus's first-ever adjuvanted, cell-based influenza vaccine.

The National Academy of Medicine released 4 reports with COVID-19-influenced recommendations to prepare and respond to an influenza pandemic.

Interim, unpublished data show PAXLOVID is associated with 89% reductions in risk of COVID-19 hospitalization or death. Pfizer is now seeking FDA emergency authorization.

The Biden administration is also setting mandates for health care workers in facilities receiving federal aid.

The investigational oral antiviral therapy from Merck is still awaiting FDA authorization.

The Walmart-distributed Better Homes & Gardens aromatherapy spray “Lavender & Chamomile with Gemstones” was identified as causing melioidosis in 4 individuals, 2 of whom died.

The FDA and CDC have authorized and recommended 3 different booster doses, to be used in "mix-and-match" strategy among eligible adults. What does this mean for immunity?

The National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID) recently sponsored a media briefing addressing the risks of contracting influenza and pneumococcal disease in the midst of a still-flourishing COVID-19 pandemic.

Infants, children, and adolescents can carry and spread COVID-19 at the same rate as adults.

New survey finds little more than half of US adults are planning to obtain vaccination against influenza despite urging by health officials.

Outside of vaccines, these underutilized therapies are the best defense against severe disease.

New clinical trial is first to describe concomitant administration of any vaccine with either an adenoviral vector or mRNA COVID-19 vaccine.

New late-breaking data illuminate the specific efficacy of the combination monoclonal antibodies.

The findings have supported the launch of a phase 3 trial called EVERGREEN, which is now underway.

A new study from IDWeek showed most observed children previously infected with SARS-CoV-2 retained antibodies over 6 months.

Unpublished, interim phase 3 data show an approximate 50% reduction in hospitalizations and deaths versus placebo. Merck is expediting FDA application for the antiviral drug.

The study author of the late-breaking IDWeek findings discusses what the new data mean for using the antiviral to reduce COVID-19 burden.

An expert explains the science of vaccine- and infection-induced immunity, and how it informs the timeline of COVID-19 outbreaks this year.

A team from a tertiary center in the Middle East used a multidisciplinary approach to increase immunization.