Health Canada reviews RSV vaccine candidate as cases spike across country
Global News
As doctors worry older adults will be the next wave to become seriously ill by respiratory syncytial virus, Health Canada is reviewing a vaccine to help protect the elderly.
As doctors worry older adults will be the next wave to become seriously ill by respiratory syncytial virus, Health Canada is reviewing a vaccine to help protect the elderly.
Health Canada said it received a submission from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) on Oct. 25 for an RSV vaccine for adults 60 years of age and older.
In addition, Pfizer has notified Health Canada that it is planning to submit two RSV vaccine candidates for consideration: one for seniors and one for pregnant women, the statement said.
“Once a submission is received, as with all vaccine submissions, Health Canada reviews it using an independent process that is based on scientific rigour and medical evidence,” it said.
According to Dr. Samir Sinha, director of geriatrics at Sinai Health and University Health Network in Toronto, “right now everyone is razor focused on what’s happening in our pediatric hospitals.”
“It’s almost a snapshot of what we think will happen in our adult hospitals as well,” he said.
Infectious disease experts have reported an earlier and harsher-than-usual RSV and flu season, partly because the COVID-19 pandemic health measures in previous years protected against those viruses as well.
But seniors are also vulnerable to serious illness this year as more RSV circulates — and it’s only a matter of time before the spread moves from children to grandparents, Sinha said.
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