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The Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved a Pfizer vaccine that aims to protect newborns against RSV by vaccinating pregnant people in the latter part of pregnancy. The vaccine, Abrysvo, has also been approved for use in adults 60 and older to protect them against respiratory syncytial virus. (Branswell, 8/21)

The two adult vaccines, which were created by Pfizer and GSK, are very similar, both in terms of how well they protect against symptomatic R.S.V. infection and in their side effects. They also work the same way biologically — targeting a protein the virus uses to fuse to human cells — and were developed based on the same decade-old scientific discovery, which is why they’ve emerged at the same time. (Smith, 8/21)

Most Americans have had one or more shots of the flu and Covid vaccines. New this year are the first shots to protect older adults and infants from respiratory syncytial virus, a lesser-known threat whose toll in hospitalizations and deaths may rival that of flu. Federal health officials are hoping that widespread adoption of these immunizations will head off another “tripledemic” of respiratory illnesses, like the one seen last winter. For people with insurance, all of the vaccines should be available for free. (Mandavilli, 8/21)

Last fall, children’s hospitals across the country dealt with an unprecedented early surge of patients with respiratory syncytial virus, known as RSV. By October, there were so many sick kids needing care that some states declared states of emergency, and some facilities set up tents with extra beds in parking lots. This year, experts think the timing of the RSV season will be closer to the pre-pandemic normal, but case numbers will probably be anything but — that is, if people embrace newly available tools to prevent RSV. (Christensen, 8/17)

Getting vaccinated against shingles, pneumonia and other illnesses could potentially reduce adults’ risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new study from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. Researchers found that people who received shingles and pneumonia vaccines — along with tetanus and diphtheria — had as much as a 30% reduced risk of developing Alzheimer’s, the most common type of dementia. (Rudy, 8/21)