FDA panel narrowly backs Pfizer RSV vaccine for older adults

By MATTHEW PERRONE
AP Health Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal health advisers have narrowly backed an experimental vaccine from Pfizer that could become the first shot to protect older adults against the respiratory illness known as RSV. A panel of Food and Drug Administration advisers voted 7-4 in favor of the shot’s safety and effectiveness for people 60 and older. The recommendation is non-binding and the FDA will make its own decision on the vaccine. For most healthy people, RSV is a cold-like nuisance. But the virus can be dangerous for young children and the elderly. Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline are each seeking FDA approval for two new vaccines to protect older Americans from infections.