[RSV image from NIAID]
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) remains a prominent global health concern. Each year, the virus is to blame for 2.1 million outpatient visits for children under 5 years old, according to CDC. Other vulnerable populations, including older adults and immunocompromised individuals, are also at risk.
Nevertheless, RSV has long been a research focus. Scientists first identified RSV in 1956. A year later, the pediatrician and virologist Robert M. Chanock linked RSV to respiratory infections in children. Attempts to develop a vaccine for the virus soon followed.
Despite numerous attempts beginning in the 1960s, an FDA-approved RSV vaccine has remained elusive until recently. Out front is GSK’s (NYSE:GSK) RSV vaccine for adults aged 60 and older, which has won the backing of an FDA advisory panel. Close behind is Pfizer’s (NYSE:PFE) single-dose vaccine for the same a…