Episode 50 – How Vaccines Get Approved in the US: The RSV Story and the Role of the ACIP

Episode 50 – How Vaccines Get Approved in the US: The RSV Story and the Role of the ACIP – Dr Yvonne Maldonado

In episode 50 of Going anti-Viral, Dr Yvonne Maldonado joins host Dr Michael Saag to discuss the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine and the vaccine approval process in the United States. Dr Maldonado is a Professor in the Stanford University School of Medicine where she has achieved national and international recognition for her scholarship in the epidemiology and control of infectious diseases. She has served on several national and international committees including, until recently, the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). Dr Maldonado and Dr Saag provide an overview of RSV including the history of RSV vaccine research and development and provide an update on the availability of RSV vaccine in adults but not in children. They also discuss the risk of severe disease in children and the limited treatments available. Dr Maldonado and Dr Saag also discuss the process for vaccine approvals in the United States. Specifically, they review the role of the ACIP committee in vaccine approvals and provide an update on the recent dismissal of all of the prior members of the committee, which included Dr Maldonado. They discuss the potential impact that this will have on the review of all vaccines and the overall impact on public health.