2023-11-17 01:39:41
(Corrects title and first paragraph to reflect that CDC accelerated the release of doses, not released doses)
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced on Thursday that it had accelerated the availability of more than 77,000 additional doses of Beyfortus, the drug from Sanofi SASY.PA and AstraZeneca AZN.L once morest the virus respiratory syncytial (RSV) ().
The additional doses, which will be distributed immediately to doctors and hospitals, will help improve the availability of the drug at a time when the increase in the number of cases of the disease outstrips supply.
Beyfortus was approved earlier this year to prevent the disease in infants and young children.
The CDC said the agency, along with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, will remain in close contact with manufacturers to ensure additional doses are available through the end of this year and early 2024 in order to respond to the request.
AstraZeneca has already said it will prioritize the US market for additional doses of Beyfortus. Its French partner Sanofi said on October 20 that it was seeing an “unprecedented level of demand” for the treatment.
RSV is a usually seasonal respiratory virus that usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms. However, infants and the elderly have a higher risk of developing severe RSV.
In October, the CDC also issued an alert saying supplies of Beyfortus were limited and advising doctors to prioritize people younger than 6 months or with underlying health conditions.
RSV cases in the United States began a sharp upward trend in mid-October and reached their highest level since January of last winter, with 4,952 cases detected by testing during the week. which ended on November 4, according to the CDC website.
Last year, the United States saw a sharp increase in the number of children under the age of 5 hospitalized for respiratory viruses, including RSV.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, RSV is the leading cause of hospitalization in infants, causing 1 to 3 percent of children younger than 12 months to be hospitalized each year in the United States.
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