Updated Evidence for Covid-19, RSV, and Influenza Vaccines for 2025–2026
New England Journal of Medicine·
- DOI
- 10.1056/nejmsa2514268
- PMID
- 41160817
- PMCID
- —
- OpenAlex
- W4415676376
- Study type
- Systematic review
- Publisher
- Massachusetts Medical Society
- Article type
- journal-article
- Integrity
- current
Why this research matters now
The review addresses disrupted U.S. vaccine advisory processes by providing an independent evidence base to support immunization decisions against major respiratory viruses for the 2025–2026 season.
Structured evidence summary
Research question
The review synthesizes current evidence on the efficacy, effectiveness, and safety of U.S.-licensed Covid-19, RSV, and influenza immunizations to inform independent guidance for the 2025–2026 respiratory virus season.
Study design
Systematic review of peer-reviewed literature searched in PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, and Web of Science, updating prior ACIP Evidence-to-Reviews performed in 2023–2024.
Population and setting
U.S.-licensed vaccine recipients across age and risk groups relevant to the 2025–2026 season, including adults, children, older adults, pregnant persons (for maternal RSV vaccination), and immunocompromised adults.
Main findings
Pooled vaccine effectiveness against hospitalization was 46–50% for Covid-19 mRNA vaccines against XBB.1.5 in adults, 37% in immunocompromised adults, and 68% against KP.2 in one case-control study. Maternal RSV vaccination, nirsevimab, and RSV vaccines in adults ≥60 years showed effectiveness ≥68% against hospitalization. Influenza vaccine effectiveness against hospitalization was 48% in adults 18–64 and 67% in children. Reported safety signals included myocarditis at 1.3–3.1 per 100,000 doses in male adolescents following Covid-19 vaccination, with lower risk at longer dosing intervals, and 18.2 excess Guillain-Barré syndrome cases per million doses with RSVpreF in older adults.
Public-health relevance
The review addresses disrupted U.S. vaccine advisory processes by providing an independent evidence base to support immunization decisions against major respiratory viruses for the 2025–2026 season.
Important limitations
This summary is limited to the supplied single-article abstract and metadata and requires the original full paper for decision-grade interpretation; specific limitations of the systematic review (e.g., heterogeneity, publication bias, and excluded evidence) were not available in the supplied sources.
GIDS interpretation
The article provides independently reviewed vaccine effectiveness and safety evidence that could serve as contextual background for respiratory virus immunization programs; this summary does not link the paper to any live surveillance signal.
Related GIDS surveillance
Literature context does not validate, explain, or change a surveillance signal. Exact and contextual relationships are shown separately.
Evidence relationships
This article has 12 auditable classifier relationships to diseases, places, topics, and study design.