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GSK said on Tuesday that its Arexvy respiratory syncytial virus vaccine was 43.3% effective in preventing severe illness in its third season after patients received the shot. That compares with 94.1% effectiveness in preventing severe RSV in the first season and 64.2% a year later, according to data from GSK's Phase 3 clinical trial. The trial initially enrolled about 25,000 volunteers in 17 countries. Arexvy is one of three RSV vaccines approved for use, alongside shots made by Pfizer and Moderna, with GSK's shot so far dominating the market. (10/8)

U.S. sales of RSV vaccines from GSK (GSK.L) and Pfizer (PFE.N) are down significantly after regulators narrowed the targeted age group and said it was a once-in-a-lifetime shot for now, excluding millions of people who got one last year. Some independent pharmacists said demand during the autumn vaccination season for respiratory syncytial virus shots has fallen as much as two-thirds from a year ago. (Erman, 10/9)

As the country heads into the respiratory illness season, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced yesterday its marketing authorization of the first over-the-counter (OTC) rapid-antigen COVID-19/flu combination test outside of emergency use authorization. The Healgen Rapid Check COVID-19/Flu A&B Antigen Test takes 15 minutes to detect proteins from both COVID-19 and influenza A and B in nasal swabs. (Van Beusekom, 10/8)

Covid-19 could be a powerful risk factor for heart attacks and strokes for as long as three years after an infection, a large new study suggests. The study was published Wednesday in the medical journal Atherosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology. It relied on medical records from roughly a quarter of a million people who were enrolled in a large database called the UK Biobank. (Goodman, 10/9)