ACIP fully recommends Spikevax, as CDC expands wastewater surveillance

Today during a meeting of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), the group voted unanimously to fully recommended the use of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine in adults 18 and older.The vaccine, now called Spikevax, gained full Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval earlier this week.

The meeting included new discussion of myocarditis risks in recipients of mRNA vaccines. The CDC's Tom Shimabukuro, MD, MPH, shared that there have been 13 deaths following mRNA vaccination from myocarditis in the United States, but upon investigation, none have been deemed to be caused by vaccination.

Most myocarditis cases following mRNA vaccine were fully resolved within 90 days of diagnosis, with patients saying the condition had no impact on their quality of life, and most cases were classified as mild according to clinicians.

With the full recommendation of Spikevax, the United States now has two fully approved COVID-19 vaccines.The CDC COVID Data Tracker shows 64% of Americans are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, 75.5% have received at least one dose of vaccine, and 41.9% of vaccinated Americans have received a booster dose.Wastewater surveillance to detect changes in virus levels Also today, the CDC announced they were expanding their National Wastewater Surveillance System to include changes in SARS-CoV-2 detections in wastewater."These data are uniquely powerful because they capture the presence of infections from people with and without symptoms, and they're not affected by access to health care or availability of clinical testing," said program lead Amy Kirby, PhD, MPH, in a press call today.