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[ad_1] It may still  feel like summer , but the fall is quickly approaching — along with the risk of seasonal viruses. On " CBS Mornings " Monday, Dr. Céline Gounder, a CBS News medical contributor and editor-at-large for public health at KFF Health News, shared what you need to know about protecting yourself from COVID-19 , the respiratory illness RSV and the flu — three infections that raised concerns last winter about the threat of a " tripledemic ." The recommendations are especially important for those at high risk, including people who are elderly, pregnant or have chronic health conditions. Here's what you need to know:  Is there an RSV vaccine? There are a few prevention tools for RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus , an illness that typically causes cold-like symptoms but can sometimes be severe, especially for infants and older adults. "(There's) a vaccine for the elderly for people 60 and up,...

[ad_1] Respiratory syncytial virus vial. Manjurul | Istock | Getty Images Vaccinating one million adults ages 65 and above with a single RSV shot from Pfizer or GSK may prevent thousands of hospitalizations over two seasons of the virus, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analysis .  A CDC medical officer presented the analysis, conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan, at an advisory committee meeting on Wednesday. The committee recommended that adults ages 60 and older may receive one dose of Pfizer's or GSK's respiratory syncytial virus shot after consulting their doctor.  The analysis found that vaccinating one million adults 65 and older with a single dose of Pfizer's shot may prevent 2,500 hospitalizations and 25,000 outpatient visits over two seasons of the virus. RSV season typically lasts from October to March in the Northern Hemisphere.   The analysis also found that vaccinating one million adults in the same age gr...

[ad_1] Last year's increase in severe strep infections in children amounted only to a return to levels of the disease from before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported last week, based on early figures from 2022.  The new figures come after a health alert published in December warned doctors and health authorities that some hospitals and states had tracked rising infections of invasive group A streptococcal (iGAS) in kids.  However, in an update  published Feb. 2, the CDC wrote that "based on preliminary 2022 data, iGAS infections in children have returned to levels similar to those seen in pre-pandemic years." While school-age children often face less dangerous infections like strep throat from this bacteria during respiratory disease season, iGAS is a rare and potentially fatal kind of infection that can lead to organ failure or tissue damage . After seeing scant cases for the p...

[ad_1] The Food and Drug Administration announced Monday it had approved a new kind of immunization to protect babies from RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus . The drug, nirsevimab, is one of two new options doctors hope could soon prevent the leading cause of hospitalization facing American infants. Outside advisers to the federal government have previously hailed nirsevimab's showing in clinical trials as potentially "groundbreaking" for protecting babies. A panel of the FDA's outside experts voted in June to back the drug's safety and efficacy. "Today's approval addresses the great need for products to help reduce the impact of RSV disease on children, families and the health care system," the FDA's Dr. John Farley, director of the Office of Infectious Diseases in the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in a statement . Drugmakers AstraZeneca and Sanofi, which will market ...