Top 5 Key Takeaways from ASM Microbe 2018

Investigational agent Zelicapavir cut time to complete RSV symptom resolution by up to a week and lowered hospitalization in high-risk adults.

Alejandra Gurtman, MD, discussed the phase 2 data at IDWeek 2026 which showed the investigational 25-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine 25vPnC produced serotype 3 antibody levels about 15-fold higher than Prevnar 20 after the booster dose, targeting a serotype still behind 10.6% of invasive pneumococcal disease in US children younger than five years.

Darren Gitelman, MD, senior medical director of the Advocate Memory Center in Park Ridge, discusses findings linking high-dose influenza vaccination to lower Alzheimer disease risk, study limitations, and potential implications for future dementia prevention research.

Deborah Fuller, PhD, provides commentary around the data, and advantages of the technology.

Confirmed US measles cases rose 6.8% this week to 5,182, more than double the 2025 total, as three states reported measles-associated deaths.

Li Tao, PhD, discusses early US uptake of twice-yearly lenacapavir, faster prescription-to-injection timelines, and how ACA coverage milestones tracked with zero cost sharing and HIV diagnoses.

In a target trial emulation using N3C data, adults prescribed metformin within six days of SARS-CoV-2 infection had about half the risk of long COVID or death within six months.

Approximately half of Long COVID patients were found to have meaningful symptom improvement within 3 years after acute infection and more than a quarter had completely remitted, in a large prospective cohort study.