No vaccines against tickborne encephalitis (TBE) or dengue are available in the US, but vaccines have been licensed in some other countries.

FluMist (MedImmune), the first live-attenuated and first intranasally administered influenza vaccine, has been approved by the FDA to prevent influenza in healthy people 5-49 years old. Given as a nasal spray, it stimulates immunity by viral replication in the upper respiratory tract. This vaccine apparently will be advertised directly to the public as a "needle-free" alternative to intramuscular influenza vaccine.

Two new trivalent influenza vaccines, Flucelvax (Novartis) and Flublok (Protein Sciences), will soon be available for prevention of seasonal influenza in adults ≥18 years old (Flucelvax) and 18-49 years old (Flublok). Unlike other available influenza vaccines, neither vaccine is produced in eggs, removing any concern regarding use in egg-allergic patients. Avoiding the use of eggs should allow for faster production of these 2 new vaccines, which could be especially beneficial during a pandemic.Flucelvax is prepared in a similar manner to other influenza vaccines, but the influenza virus is...

Evidence of waning immunity by 5 years post-vaccination has led the US Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) to recommend, in addition to a primary dose of meningococcal conjugate vaccine at 11 or 12 years of age, a booster dose at age 16. Adolescents who receive a first dose of the vaccine at age 13-15 should receive a booster dose at 16-18 (before college). Those who receive their first dose at ≥16 years of age do not need a booster dose. Routine vaccination of healthy persons who are not at increased risk for exposure to Neisseria meningitidis is not recommended after age...

The 2006 Medical Letter article on the then-new varicella-zoster vaccine concluded that Zostavax appears to be safe and effective in protecting patients ≥60 years old against herpes zoster and postherpetic neuralgia, especially in reducing the severity and duration of the disease.1 Some new information has recently become available.CLINICAL STUDIES — A Veterans Administration randomized, double-blind trial enrolled more than 38,000 patients ≥60 years old and followed them for a mean of 3.4 years after administration of Zostavax or placebo. Since the efficacy of the vaccine had been...

Wild poliovirus has circulated during the previous 12 months in Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Iraq, Israel (also the West Bank and Gaza), Somalia, and Syria, as well as in those countries where polio is still endemic (Afghanistan, Nigeria, and Pakistan). The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a public health emergency related to the possible spread of polio from affected countries. In response, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued interim guidance for US residents planning travel to and from these countries.Vaccine Recommendations – All travelers...

The US Public Health Service Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has recently published new recommendations for prevention and control of meningococcal disease in college students.

Three products are currently available in the US for treatment of high-risk,1 nonhospitalized adults with mild to moderate COVID-19: oral ritonavir-boosted nirmatrelvir (Paxlovid), IV remdesivir (Veklury), and oral molnupiravir (Lagevrio). Remdesivir is FDA-approved for such use; nirmatrelvir/ritonavir and molnupiravir are available under an FDA Emergency Use Authorization. Because the pivotal clinical trials of these products for outpatient use were conducted in patients who were not vaccinated against COVID-19, some clinicians have questioned whether they can benefit vaccinated...

The FDA has warned that the antiepileptic and mood-stabilizing drug lamotrigine (Lamictal, and generics) can rarely cause hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), a serious and potentially fatal immune-related reaction.1HLH, which can be familial, occurs most often in infants, but can occur at any age. Often induced by Epstein-Barr Virus infection (HIV infection and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma are other common triggers), HLH is characterized by an unremitting activation of CD8+ T cells and macrophages.2 If untreated, it causes organ damage, particularly in the liver, bone marrow, and CNS; organ...

On February 27, 2021, the FDA issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the Johnson & Johnson adenovirus-based vaccine for prevention of COVID-19 in persons ≥18 years old. It is the third COVID-19 vaccine to become available in the US and the first to require only a single dose. Two-dose mRNA-based vaccines manufactured by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna received EUAs in December 2020.