Iowa City, IA- The University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics is hosting a clinical trial for a vaccine that promises to protect seniors from RSV.
Dr Patricia Winokur, executive dean of the UI Carver College of Medicine tells Radio Iowa, that many of the trial’s participants are grandparents.
“They are very interested in participating because they thought this was a really important way that they could protect themselves because they might be getting RSV from their grandkids,” Winokur says, “but also protect their grandkids.”
The CDC is expected to meet this week to make recommendations on the use of GSK and Pfizer vaccines, which have both been approved by the FDA. Winokur says the vaccine may be best for seniors with underlying conditions.
“If you have someone, for me as a practitioner, who is 65 and older and has significant lung disease in particular, where they would have a much higher risk of complications from getting RSV, this would probably be a very important vaccine for that group,” she says.
The vaccine could be available as soon as this fall.
