Good news for Moderna's mRNA-based RSV vaccine

Plus more health news | Email not displaying correctly? [View it in your browser.]( [Health Matters]( Moderna says its RSV vaccine protects older adults By Alice Park Senior Health Correspondent Following the success of the COVID-19 vaccines, mRNA-based shots for other infectious diseases aren’t far behind. On Jan. 17, Moderna reported that data from the late-stage trial of its respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine show the shot is effective. That’s good news for the elderly and young children, who are at highest risk of complications from the respiratory disease—especially this year, as rates of infections have skyrocketed. While the vaccine was only tested in people over age 60, studies including young children are ongoing. Each year, 60,000 to 120,000 adults over age 65 are hospitalized for RSV, and 6,000 to 10,000 die from the infection. Meanwhile, 58,000 to 80,000 children under 5 are hospitalized annually, and 100 to 300 children die from the disease. Moderna isn’t the only company to apply mRNA technology to an RSV vaccine; Pfizer has also submitted a request to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for approval of its mRNA RSV vaccine for older adults. Here’s what Moderna announced: - Among 37,000 people over age 60 who received either the RSV vaccine or a placebo, the vaccine was 83.7% effective in reducing respiratory disease caused by RSV. - Moderna is conducting five additional trials of the vaccine, including in young children and in combination with other shots such as influenza and COVID-19. - The company plans to request approval for the vaccine from the FDA soon. [READ THE STORY](. What else to read [The 5 Best Ways to Control High Cholesterol, According to People With the Condition]( By Elizabeth Millard Here’s what people with high cholesterol have found works best for them [Read More »]( [10 Deskercises You Can Do at Work]( By Mandy Oaklander and Heather Jones Sitting is sabotaging your health, so try these easy exercises you can do at the office. (Originally published in 2015.) [Read More »]( [5 Ways Sleep Can Help You Get Slim]( By Alexandra Sifferlin It sounds too good to be true, but the research is starting to stack up. (Originally published in 2017.) [Read More »]( [Why You Forget Names Immediately—And How to Remember Them]( By Jamie Ducharme Of all the social gaffes, none is perhaps more common than meeting a new person, exchanging names and promptly forgetting theirs. (Originally published in 2018.) [Read More »]( [These Apps Pay You in Crypto for Working Out]( By Angela Haupt Research indicates that small financial incentives are effective. [Read More »]( ONE LAST READ [Paging Dr. Robot?]( [ChatGPT]( is an innocuous-sounding artificial intelligence program that in recent months has overturned sectors of society ranging from [public schooling]( to [book publishing]( and now, perhaps, health care. As Axios writes, last month, ChatGPT passed all three parts of the U.S. Medical Licensing Examination—despite never even getting trained on a medical dataset. [Read More »]( --------------------------------------------------------------- If you were forwarded this and want to sign up to receive it daily, [click here](. Today's newsletter was written by Alice Park and Elijah Wolfson, and edited by Angela Haupt. [Want more from TIME? Sign up for our other newsletters.]( [Subscribe to TIME]( TIME may receive compensation for some links to products and services in this email. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Connect with TIME via [Facebook]( | [Twitter]( | [Newsletters]( [UNSUBSCRIBE]( [PRIVACY POLICY]( [YOUR CALIFORNIA PRIVACY RIGHTS]( TIME Customer Service, P.O. Box 37508, Boone, IA 50037-0508 Questions? Contact health@time.com Copyright © 2023 TIME USA, LLC. All rights reserved.