Pfizer Granted Upgraded Status For First-Ever Group B Strep Vaccine -- December 15, 2022

I don't know if regular readers of Fox News caught this story (the surge in severe Group A strep infections with no known explanation: https://www.foxnews.com/health/great-concern-invasive-group-a-strep-cases-spiking-parts-us-respiratory-viral-illnesses. 

Knowing most folks don't trust Fox News, I looked for another source and here it is. There is not a more credible source than Nature: link here.

So, here's a quick review. This review is very, very superficial and accurate only to the extent to which the information is provided (if that makes sense).

There are three major strep bacteria with which we are concerned.

All three are of the same genus; two are of the same species; the third is in a species of its own. The two varieties of strep in the same species are in two different groups: group A and group B.

So, Kamala Harris would explain it to the president like this:

• strep pneumonia (pneumococcal pneumonia) is caused by a cousin of the Group A / Group B strep bacteria;
• Group A / Group B are siblings (brothers / sisters)
• their pronouns are it / they

Why they are scary:

• Strep pneumonia (pneumococcal pneumonia): can cause severe pneumonia/death in seniors;
• Group A strep: every mom knows this one: strep throat, scarlet fever, rheumatic heart disease; kidney disease (renal failure, death)
• Group B strep: bad, bad disease if contracted by fetus/newborn/infant whose mother has/had asymptomatic Group B strep; colonization along the birth canal (no disease; just carries the bug)

Vaccine status:

• strep pneumonia: yes, "pneumococcal vaccine"; e.g. Prevnar-- Pfizer and Merck; #1 selling vaccine in the world; recommended for everyone over the age of 65;
• strep A: no vaccine; thirty years of research; no vaccine
• strep B: no vaccine --- until now ... link here. 

September 7, 2022 -- just a few months ago --

Pfizer: investigational Group B Streptococcus (GBS) vaccine candidate, GBS6 or PF-06760805, received Breakthrough Therapy Designation from the US FDA for the prevention of invasive GBS disease due to the vaccine serotypes in newborns and young infants by active immunization of their mothers during pregnancy.

This would be offered to all moms during the second or early third trimester of pregnancy.

This decision follows the FDA’s March 2017 decision to grant Fast Track status to GBS6.

Fast Track status is a process designed to facilitate the development and expedite the review of new drugs and vaccines intended to treat or prevent serious conditions and address an unmet medical need.

Pfizer.

Getting the job done. 

Huge.

By the way, Nature proposes one possible explanation for why Group A strep is surging. If interested, go to the link.