Infectious Disease Regulatory Watch: June Highlights

Here is a comprehensive list of vaccines approved this year as well as background information on the clinical data for each of them.

The latest CDC numbers show a 5.37% increase of measles cases from week-to-week. In Pennsylvania, the fourth measles-related death was reported in 2026. Additionally, the CDC has made a change in the way it will report deaths.

FDA approved updated 2026-2027 COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Novavax's partners, all reformulated to target the XFG variant, giving clinicians several options ahead of the fall respiratory virus season.

The Vaccine Integrity Project, in collaboration with the American Medical Association, conducted a vaccine and immunization effectiveness and safety review for RSV, Influenza, and COVID-19 for the 2026-2027 season. JAMA published the review, and here is an overview of the data going into this year's seasonal respiratory virus season.

A new study in infants challenges the long-standing belief about the pathogen’s effects in the youngest pediatric population. Senior author Joseph Zackular, PhD, provides insights around his work including how it reshapes gut development and offers potential intervention strategies to shield neonates.

In the first episode of our news series looking at the food safety network, Lynette Johnston, PhD, offers insights into how the federal government surveillance infrastructure operates, and how epidemiologists serve as food detectives in determining bacterial pathogens and potential foodborne outbreaks.

In this week's top infectious disease stories, a Pennsylvania teen became the state's fourth measles death in weeks, the CDC reported a 17% summer surge in rabies exposure calls, new research revisited whether cefepime raises mortality risk, a multihospital review examined ceftriaxone's safety after state alerts, and examining Legionella pneumonia diagnostics.

The 18-year old resident of the state suffered from acute disseminated encephalomyelitis. Pennsylvania numbers are surging with some of the highest state totals of measles cases in the country.