By I. Edwards HealthDay Reporter<\/b>
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MONDAY, July 7, 2025 (HealthDay News) \u2014 Adults as young as 50 may now qualify for an RSV vaccine if they have certain health conditions, according to a quiet update from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).<\/p>\n
This marks a change from the CDC\u2019s previous recommendation, which only offered the shot to people 60 and older who were at high risk, the Associated Press <\/em>reported.<\/p>\n Respiratory syncytial virus<\/a>, or RSV, is usually mild but can cause severe illness in infants, older adults and people with certain health problems. It affects the nose, throat and lungs.<\/p>\n Earlier this year, a group of vaccine experts on the CDC\u2019s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted to expand RSV vaccination to high-risk adults starting at age 50.<\/p>\n However, that recommendation was not executed after Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr<\/a>. fired all 17 members of the panel<\/a> in June.<\/p>\n He replaced them with seven new members, some of whom have questioned vaccine effectiveness.<\/p>\n The reconstituted panel has not discussed RSV vaccination again and has already caused concern among doctors by questioning proven science around flu vaccines and childhood immunizations, the AP <\/em>said.<\/p>\n Despite this, a page on the CDC\u2019s website<\/a> updated last week says Kennedy approved the original panel\u2019s RSV recommendation on June 25.<\/p>\n The site now states that vaccinating high-risk adults 50 and older is an \u201cofficial recommendation of the CDC,” the AP <\/em>added.<\/p>\n The change has not yet appeared on the agency\u2019s main adult immunization schedule.<\/p>\n The CDC already recommends the RSV shot for all adults 75 and older and for people 60 and older who have health conditions that increase their risk of severe RSV.<\/p>\n It also recommends the shot during pregnancy to protect newborns.<\/p>\n More information<\/strong><\/p>\n The Mayo Clinic has more on respiratory syncytial virus<\/a>.<\/p>\n