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2 hours ago
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Why It's Important to Finally Define 'Fitness' for Yourself
June 19, 2025 — For most of my life, if you asked me if I was fit, I would say yes without hesitation. I spent my childhood playing year-round sports, was on a D1 lacrosse team in college, became a certified trainer, and spent more than a decade as a fitness director for a major women's magazine. By pretty much any objective measure, my fitness hovered somewhere above average. More than that, I loved it: the stress relief, the sense of accomplishment, the high after a tough workout; the grit I developed in (and out) of sports. It wasn't hard for me to feel connected to and passionate about exercise. But as I sit here in the midst of a stressful season of life — a few months out from unexpected abdominal surgery, among other joys — I am so very far from that version of me. I know I don't have the speed, strength, or cardiovascular endurance I've had in the past. And for the first time (maybe ever), I'm not sure what to call myself. Am I fit? Woefully out of shape? What, exactly, does any of that mean? As I talked to experts on the topic, I learned something pivotal: the most important definition of fitness isn't in a textbook — it's a truth you define for yourself. What Is Fitness? Let Us Count the Ways While there are objective measures of physical fitness — your VO2 max and grip strength, for example — not every expert will agree on which ones matter most. Medical doctors view physical fitness through a lens of disease. Are you exercising enough to help you avoid poor health outcomes? Longevity zealots will zero in on 'health span.' Are you doing workouts that will lengthen the vibrant, active years of your life? (And, of course, posting all about it on social media so everyone knows). Athletes will look to specific performance metrics that deliver success in their particular arena. Where does your pace per mile fall within the rest of the runners your age? How many pushups can you do in a minute? Pullups? What's your bench-squat-deadlift total? Resting heart rate? And on and on. And for you, maybe none of the above. ' What we know for sure is that there's a million different ways to look at how to even define what fitness is,' says Boston-based sports psychology coach Emily Saul. For Saul's money, everything you read and hear about defining fitness is noise. Consider one thing only: 'What feels meaningful?' 'It really comes down to the individual,' she says. 'Because your assessment is always within the context of whatever your standard is. So you have to decide for yourself what things are important in terms of the quality of your life.' Sometimes it helps to think of real, life-based situations where you can say to yourself, I want to be able to do that. That makes me feel fit. Maybe it's not having to ask for help when putting your suitcase in the overhead bin. Or maybe you're a grandparent and want to play with your grandkids on the floor. 'It's not going to be the same answer for everyone,' she adds. 'Each person has to decide what's meaningful for them right now.' From there, assessment of your fitness becomes far easier — because it's tied to one very simple metric: your own progress. 'I care more about the person's progress and what they're doing now compared to where they were three months ago,' says Los Angeles-based fitness coach Sohee Lee Carpenter. 'Are you lifting more weight? Are you doing more reps? Has your form improved? Are you moving pain -free? Do you feel better when you do certain movements? Can you run more miles without stopping? Those kinds of things are way better markers of fitness.' Why Finding Your 'Why' Needs a Rethink There's a reason things like the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans exist: Regular exercise is not really an elective; it's an essential pillar for overall good health. So why does there seem to be this collective eye -rolling, heel-dragging response to it? For starters, some of it stems from our culturally complicated relationship with physical activity. That's a good question to ask: Do I have a positive relationship with physical activity? Research has shown for years that a negative perception or relationship with exercise wrecks your motivation. Maybe you feel intimidated, inadequate, or defeated when you think about exercise. Maybe you see too many super-fit people on Instagram and know that's not you, never was, never will be. The message has been driven home that fitness is a 'have to' not a 'want to' proposition. We also live in a very goals-driven society, which creates this idea that you need to have an ambitious 'why' behind your exercise routine. (In reality, you don't.) 'The social media version of 'what's your why?' is essentially, what's the next thing you're aiming to do?' Saul says. 'It's how people shorthand for what their next goal is, and they talk about it as if that's their bigger meaning. I push back hard when I hear people say something like 'My why is qualifying for Boston.' No, that's not 'your why.' That's the means to what you think is your why. So let's actually get at what's meaningful to you about that.' This is critical to making exercise Your Thing. You have to ask yourself: What are the bigger values driving me? And what about this thing (working out) is connected to my values? 'That can't come from an outside source telling you, 'You've got to do it' or 'This is what I do,'' says Jen Fraboni, DPT, founder of Jen Health. 'It has to come from what you're really hearing from listening within your own body.' Do you believe yourself to be hardworking? Great. 'You can work hard at something that you don't necessarily want to do — not because you're trying to force yourself to like doing the thing but because you value being a hard worker,' says Saul. 'You may never love the thing, but lots of people do things because they like the results and not because they like the activity itself.' There are days you don't feel like going to work, right? But you get up, make your coffee, and go anyway. Because whether you realize it or not, your job is connected in some way to your core values (like taking care of your family or challenging yourself). You need to bring that same perspective to fitness: what about this thing (working out) is connected to your identity? 'The reason most people [exercise] is not because there's always that strong internal motivation or desire for it,' says Saul. 'It's that doing it is in alignment with who I know myself to be — or with who I really want to know myself to be.' That last part is important because it means even if you're not there yet, the way you choose to think about yourself can hold a lot of power. 'It actually starts not with 'I choose to see myself as an active person' but 'I understand the kinds of things that an active person does and I will do them,'' says Saul. 'That's this formulaic statement, right? Like if active people do these things, and I do these things, then I am an active person — and I have to believe that because I'm building evidence of it day after day after day. It's not easy at the start to just see yourself that way, but it becomes harder to not see yourself that way by doing those things.' When fitness crisscrosses with who you are, it feels less like a duty. It becomes something you do whether you're always super excited about it or not. After talking to Saul, I thought about it. I value being someone who tackles hard things. And wouldn't you know: that little flip — focusing on the idea that I want to be someone who does hard things, and right now for a number of reasons fitness is a thing that feels hard — well, it's helped pull me off the couch on days I can't seem to find my usual motivation. The Depths of Perception All too often, the hardest part of working out isn't even the act itself, it's what happens right before. In the thinking about working out. How you perceive exercise in that moment defines what you do. A subtle shift in perception, in perspective, changes how you feel — and ultimately act. 'It's even harder if you are very stuck on 'fitness looks like this' or 'my workouts have to be this way,'' says Carpenter. Even harder still? When you're judging yourself based on a past (younger, fitter) version of you. Carpenter stresses that you have to be willing to recalibrate what is realistic — and what you can perceive as a 'fitness win' — right now. 'Maybe when you were in your marathon days, a fitness win was getting faster in a particular workout,' she says. 'Now, maybe it's 'Hey, I got on a 30-minute workout when I wanted to not do anything at all.' Changing those definitions, maybe even tracking them, and celebrating those little wins can help a lot.' Sometimes those wins might initially feel like a step back. 'I am running a challenge right now and I have someone who actually took a break from doing any kind of deadlifting because of pain,' says Fraboni, also a pregnancy and postpartum corrective exercise specialist (PCES). 'We're starting to ease back into it restarting at the basics — doing mobility and breath work, being so mindful of form — and she's like, 'wow, I'm realizing that if I step back on the weight and don't let the ego drive me on what I should be doing and what I have done in the past, I feel so much stronger and better in my body.'' Whether you're coming back from an injury, illness, having a baby, or dealing with a hectic work schedule, not judging or comparing yourself to past versions of fitness is hard — even for seasoned pros. Take Fraboni, who's a new mother of two: 'I feel like I'm progressing so well in strength pretty quickly postpartum and that feels good. However, I feel like I'm moving in a foreign body,' she says. 'It's almost like two different worlds: so proud of myself for how I'm gaining strength; and, on the flip side, I look in the mirror and think, Whoa, I don't recognize who I am. I've never felt like this. I've never looked like this.' In those phases of life, Fraboni stresses the importance of having empathy for the person you see in the mirror and a solid grip on the reality of your goals. 'It's a new person that I'm moving into,' she says. 'We never are going back to the person we were before. We're never going back into a previous body. We're always moving forward — we're aging, we're changing — so I have to always make that switch in my mind mentally that this is a new body and I'm moving forward.' 'Claim Your Identity as a 'Fit Person'' Nearly a decade ago, I was out to dinner in New York City with the incredibly fit, active, and vibrant LaJean Lawson, PhD, a 63-year-old exercise scientist. I asked her, 'What's your secret to staying in such great shape?' Her answer was simple: Identify your 'basic threshold' of fitness that is impossible to fail. Early on, Lawson decided she had to claim an unrelenting identity as a fit person, and in order to do that, she needed to perform an intentional fitness activity daily. Her basic threshold: one pullup or two full pushups. So at the end of every day, whether she was sick, or traveling, or crazy with work deadlines, she would do one of those two things. It may not sound like much, but, in less than 15 seconds a day, it has enabled her to maintain a very long streak of being a continuously active person. While I loved the philosophy, I was skeptical. But I gave it a shot anyways. My first basic threshold: Rather than taking a cab or subway, I would walk to and from work (about 25 minutes each way). It didn't take long to notice that instead of feeling defeated for missing a spin class, I was proud that I kicked off my heels and hiked home — even if it was raining, snowing, or late. Was the effort comparable? Of course not. But it helped shift my mindset and it made me feel like I was still on track. Lawson's modest approach has stuck with me, and I have repeatedly tested — and proved — its effectiveness. I can choose a bare minimum that works for the season I'm in, not the season I want to be in. These activities don't outweigh or replace my workouts, but they help connect the dots in between missed sessions and breed confidence rather than frustration. As Lawson so perfectly told me, 'In the end, being able to claim your identity as a 'fit person' is as much a state of being as it is a state of doing.' At the heart of true long-term success is repetition. When you take a look at the principal achievement among people who successfully maintain active and healthy lives for years and decades, you'll see a common denominator: They have made being active a consistent part of their way of life. It isn't a switch they turn on before beach season or a big event and then shut off as soon as it's over. What's more, their daily behaviors don't change how they see themselves. They're still active, healthy people — even if they haven't been to the gym in weeks. They don't beat themselves up or give up on their goals because they made one mistake or got nudged off track. It doesn't change how they think of themselves as people. 'From a health behavior perspective, we know that higher levels of self-compassion are correlated with more perseverance,' says Carpenter. 'You're more likely to keep trying in pursuit of a goal if you're not as hard on yourself about it. So when you miss a day, you're not beating yourself up about it — and because you're not beating yourself up about it, you're less likely to throw in the towel.' An important caveat: 'Self-compassion and self-love do involve being brutally honest with yourself, too,' she adds. 'I think it's super important to be accountable. Sometimes you need to call yourself out.' The truth is, there have been plenty of moments over the past few months where I have given myself a pass to skip the gym, when I know my body (and soul) would have felt better doing something. Whether you're working towards the best shape of your life or you're far away from your goals, there is one metric above all others that can serve as a powerful gut check: Are you consistent? 'For most people, the thing that we're wanting more than anything is just a feeling of progress, " says Saul. 'That's one of the core basic psychological needs.' That has become my new barometer. If I'm checking the boxes day after day, then I know I'm moving in the right direction. If I've given myself too many days off, it's time for an honest look in the mirror. Not to guilt or shame or beat myself up, but just to reset. 'There's this overwhelming pressure to be perfect every single day, and that's not the reality for anyone,' says Fraboni. 'But what if you just chose to choose again the next day? OK, I didn't do it today, but I can choose again tomorrow. What a gift to be able to do that — to get the choice to choose again.'
WebMD
a day ago
- Health
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FDA Approves First Twice-Yearly Shot to Prevent HIV
June 19, 2025 – The FDA has approved the first twice-yearly shot to reduce the risk of HIV infections. Originally approved in 2012, the drug – known as lenacapavir but sold under the name Yeztugo – offers a new way to protect against this life-threatening infection that affects more than a million people in the U.S. and has no cure. The shot is given before potential exposure to the virus. HIV spreads through unprotected sex and shared needles (including dirty needles from tattoos and body piercings). It weakens the immune system, and in its advanced stage, the body can no longer fight off infections, leading to acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Only about a third of eligible people in the U.S. use available HIV prevention, with especially low use among women, Black/African American and Hispanic communities, and people in the South. This is mainly due to stigma, low awareness about existing options, and challenges with daily pills or frequent shots. Carlos del Rio, MD, a distinguished professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Emory University School of Medicine, said that getting a shot just twice a year could make it easier for people to stick with prevention. "Yeztugo could be the transformative PrEP [pre-exposure prophylaxis] option we've been waiting for – offering the potential to boost PrEP uptake and persistence and adding a powerful new tool in our mission to end the HIV epidemic," said del Rio, who is also co-director of the Emory Center for AIDS Research in Atlanta. Gilead, the drug's maker, said the FDA approved Yeztugo based on two major studies, which showed that it worked better than taking a daily pill form of PrEP in preventing HIV with a nearly 100% success rate. In one trial, none of the 2,134 women who received Yeztugo got HIV, while in the other, only two out of 2,179 people did. It was well tolerated with no new safety concerns, which led the academic journal Science to name lenacapavir as its 2024 "Breakthrough of the Year." Yeztugo attacks a protective shell that HIV needs to stay alive, which helps stop the virus from growing and spreading. Most HIV drugs only work at one part of the virus's life cycle, but Yeztugo works at several points. It also still works even if other HIV drugs have stopped working. It is given as a shot under the skin and is only for people who test negative for HIV. Before starting Yeztugo and before each shot, your provider will test for HIV to prevent the virus from developing resistance to the medication. The treatment begins with two shots and two tablets, followed by two more tablets the next day – then continues with one shot every six months. If a shot is delayed by over two weeks, a weekly pill can be used for up to six months. If over 28 weeks pass with no treatment, patients may need to restart. If a patient gets HIV while on Yeztugo, they'll need full HIV treatment, as Yeztugo alone isn't enough. Yeztugo helps lower the risk of HIV when taken as prescribed, along with safe sex practices like using condoms.
WebMD
a day ago
- Health
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Too Warm or Too Cold With MS
Must I choose between uncomfortably cold and dysfunctionally warm? Before I had multiple sclerosis (MS), I didn't worry much about temperature. If it was cold out, I put on a coat. If it was hot, I could take off a sweater, but if I didn't, nothing bad would happen. After 40 years of MS, I have to think about temperature constantly. If I let myself get too warm, my body stops working. If I wait too long to take off that sweater, I won't be physically able to do it. Two of the three times MS has landed me in the emergency room, it was because of getting too warm and not being able to sit up. One time, the day started off cold, so I dressed in a few layers and went to see some art shows. When it got warm, I was too engrossed in the art to notice. When I noticed, I tried to take off a pullover I was wearing, but I could not lift my arms well enough to do it. I should have asked a stranger to help me take off some layers, but I didn't want to bother them or to be embarrassed. I tried to tough it out. I wound up on the floor and got an unwanted ambulance ride to the hospital. That was five years ago. Since then, my temperature sensitivity has gotten worse. Now, I'm also quite uncomfortable when I get too cold. My body hunches in on itself to keep warm, I start sneezing and coughing, and I can't wait to get home and warm up. But if I get too warm, it's worse. Then I need to get into bed, or everything falls apart. I wish it were a question of finding a 'sweet spot' – not too hot and not too cold. But for me, there is no sweet spot. I can actually be too warm (weak) and too cold (uncomfortable) at the same time. It's taken me a few years to realize just how important it is to take off layers when I start to get warm. Like right now, writing this, I had to take off a sweatshirt and just wear a T-shirt, because the day is warming up. How does this work out in the world? Memorial Day weekend, I spent a delightful two days at San Francisco's Carnival celebration. So much dance, music, art, costumes, and food, all in one place. I love it and almost never miss it, but it's in the Mission District, on the warm side of town. It is difficult for me to spend hours there without getting into a temperature crisis. This year, I was smart. I packed four layers: two T-shirts, a sweatshirt, and a sweater. I paid attention to the weather and how I was feeling and frequently changed between outfits so that I felt cool but not uncomfortably cold. It wasn't finding one right outfit; it was frequently changing to fit my body's needs at the moment. I missed some moments of the parade, because I was busy putting on or taking off a sweater. It was a lot of hassle, and I'm sure a few people were wondering, 'What's up with him?' but it enabled me to enjoy the event and not collapse. Temperature balance is important at home, too. My apartment, especially my work area, tends to get warm. If I'm busy writing, I might not notice until my fingers stop working and I can't type anymore. Right now, I'm still warm, so I have turned on an electric fan that sits by my desk. I love that fan; at its low setting, it really does seem to put me in a sweet spot of not being too hot or too cold. Fans are great; they use way less energy than air conditioning, so they're better for the environment, and they work right away. They cool you without unnecessarily cooling the whole house. So, there are a lot of tricks. To avoid heat, stay in the shade; if you're cold, get into the sun. Some people with MS wear cooling vests or neck wraps if they can't avoid being out in the heat, but San Francisco rarely gets that hot. Drinking lots of fluids, iced or not, helps control our temperature. Like with a lot of other MS symptoms, there are many things we can try. For me, doing the right things means taking our time, paying close attention to our bodies, learning and trying new things, finding balance, and then doing what works. That process applies to mobility issues, doing tasks, enjoying life, and a long list of MS challenges, including heat sensitivity like mine.
WebMD
2 days ago
- Health
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What to Know About 'Forever Chemicals' if You're Pregnant
Sara Blixt avoided canned tuna – even though it was the food she craved. But tuna meant mercury, a potential threat to her unborn son. When he was born, she managed to breastfeed for only three months. "I felt like crap," she said. Three years later, Blixt learned that she and others in her town, Ronneby, Sweden, had extremely high levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, in their blood. The municipal water supply was contaminated by firefighting foam used on a military base for years. Blixt had likely passed the PFAS to her children through pregnancy and breastfeeding, and again by mixing formula with tap water. Today, Sara Blixt is grateful – her children are healthy. Yet research increasingly shows that for many others, PFAS may mean harm: Fetal exposure has been linked to a higher risk of birth defects, liver disease, language disorders, and cancer. Mothers, too, may get pregnancy complications due to PFAS, research suggests – such as high blood pressure and preeclampsia, a serious condition responsible for over 10% of maternal deaths across the globe. And just like Blixt, they may have trouble breastfeeding, and throw in the towel sooner than they would like. PFAS, also known as "forever chemicals," are a class of man-made compounds used in nonstick and waterproof products. They are everywhere: in makeup, cookware, parchment paper, microwaveable popcorn, and rain-proof clothing. We ingest them via contaminated tap water and foods like meat and fish, and we absorb them through the skin. Our bodies can get rid of PFAS, but slowly: It takes three to five years for the levels of PFOS, a common type of PFAS, to go down by half. "Everyone carries a little bit of PFAS in them," said Tracey Woodruff, PhD, MPH, a reproductive health researcher at the University of California, San Francisco. Dangers During Pregnancy PFAS are bad news for everyone, but pregnancy is a particularly vulnerable time. "The fetus is going through a lot of important biological changes that can be interrupted, and that can influence the future baby's health," Woodruff said. For mothers, breasts change to prepare for breastfeeding, breathing rate increases, and blood volume expands. PFAS get transferred to the fetus via the placenta, which provides oxygen and nutrients to the developing baby. "Some toxins sneak through because they're similar in shape and size to things that the fetus might need to grow," said Megan Romano, PhD, an epidemiologist at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. PFAS structurally resemble fatty acids, she said, which could help explain "why they seem to cross the placenta more than some of the other persistent pollutants." Studies show that depending on the type of PFAS, the fetus receives between 30% and 80% of the mother's blood levels. Over the course of pregnancy, PFAS accumulate in the placenta – so the mother's levels go down after birth. "When you expel the placenta, it takes out a whole bunch of PFAS," Woodruff said. That's good for subsequent children: Several studies have found that the amount of PFAS the baby receives lowers with each birth. (Blood loss during birth also helps clear PFAS from the mother's body.) PFAS and Lower Birthweight High prenatal exposure to PFOA, another type of PFAS, has been linked to lower birthweights – studies show reductions of up to 8.8 ounces in babies born to highly exposed mothers. Low birthweight has been linked to childhood obesity. Romano saw this play out in her research in New Hampshire: Some children who had elevated PFAS exposure were born small, but grew faster than others over the next two to three years, crossing into obese territory. "There may be a metabolic setpoint where your body is like, 'OK, I need to be taking in calories and growing all the time because I'm small and I need to catch up.' And then that doesn't really turn off when you do catch up," Romano said. Several theories could explain why PFAS may affect birthweight. Animal research shows that forever chemicals interfere with how the mother's body handles fats, which then affects the baby's liver. (Negative effects on liver metabolism have been found in human fetuses, too.) PFAS also throws off maternal blood circulation, potentially affecting the placenta, the baby's nutrition center. "More than likely, it's all of the above," Romano said. More Dangers: Cancer, Immunity, Brain Development The negative effects of PFAS don't end with birth. A 2024 Finnish study showed that if a mother has elevated blood levels of one type of PFAS (found, for example, in some low pile carpets), her children are at a higher risk of acute lymphoblastic leukemia, the most common childhood cancer. A June study found that children exposed to high PFAS levels in the womb have 17% higher risk of high blood pressure as teenagers. Other research links prenatal PFAS exposure with weaker vaccination response, suggesting children's immune systems may not be working as well as they should. A 2025 study found that babies exposed to PFAS during pregnancy grow up to be infection-prone kids. Brain development may be affected, too. In Denmark, parents of children who came into contact with PFAS before birth reported more behavioral problems, from restlessness to temper tantrums. In Sweden, researchers found that highly exposed children from Ronneby were more likely to have a developmental language disorder. (This could mean limited vocabulary or challenges understanding spoken language.) "Language development is a marker of general neural development," said Christel Nielsen, PhD, an epidemiologist at Lund University, Sweden, and one of the study's authors. "It could be a signal that this child might need more support to develop its full potential." The Breast Milk Connection Besides the placenta, PFAS can transfer to the infant through breast milk, although less efficiently, Nielsen said. In one study of Norwegian toddlers, the children's PFOS and PFOA levels increased by 3% to 5% per month of breastfeeding. The milk itself may be less nutritious. Romano's recent study showed that breast milk from women exposed to PFAS contained more saturated fatty acids and n-6 fatty acids – not ideal. The milk also had lower levels of lactose. "On average, if there is a higher lactose content in the milk, it means that you're producing more," Romano said. This could explain why women who were exposed to PFAS during pregnancy are often unable to breastfeed for as long as they'd like. But breastfeeding parents should not be discouraged, even if they were highly exposed to forever chemicals, both Romano and Nielsen agree. Breast milk boosts the immune system, helps the brain develop, and feeds the friendly gut microflora, potentially offsetting the negative impacts of PFAS. So How Can You Avoid Forever Chemicals? Dodging PFAS completely is tough, but you can reduce your exposure. Choose cookware made of "glass, cast iron, stainless steel, non-coated," Woodruff said. Eat fresh fruits and vegetables and fewer animal products – meat and fish contain more forever chemicals than do plants. Skip microwave popcorn – which combines PFAS (used in the bag lining) with high temperatures and fat for a particularly unhealthy mix. PFAS can enter through the skin. So waterproof clothing and flame-retardant textiles can be sources. Go easy on makeup, especially foundation: In one study, people who usually wore it had over 50% higher levels of certain PFAS in their blood. If you're pregnant, don't paint or remodel that baby room yourself: Some wallpaper, paint, and carpeting contain PFAS – although PFAS-free alternatives exist. "It's better to be safe than sorry," said Woodruff, whose team compiled a list of evidence-based tips. How can you know if you've been highly exposed? There are U.S. and European water-contamination maps. Some jobs, like firefighters or workers who make or handle PFAS-containing materials, are linked to a higher risk. If you're concerned, you can ask your doctor for a PFAS blood test – though the cost can be high and access to the tests can vary. One potential hope for those with high PFAS levels is a drug called cholestyramine, which has long been used for lowering cholesterol. Early studies suggest the drug helps the body recognize PFAS as a harmful substance and prevents it from being reabsorbed in the liver. A clinical trial found that it may decrease PFAS blood levels by 15% to 60%. The results are "promising," said Nielsen, and targeting highly exposed women before their first child "would be a top priority." But more research is needed before scientists can recommend the drug to the general population. Above all, women shouldn't blame themselves for PFAS, Woodruff said. "This problem was made by the chemical manufacturing industry." What we now need is for the government to step in and regulate PFAS as a class, she said: Otherwise, we may drive ourselves crazy trying to figure out ways to avoid these chemicals. And the last thing parents-to-be need is more stress – which, by the way, is not best for the baby, either.
WebMD
3 days ago
- Health
- WebMD
More Adults Can Now Get Moderna's RSV Shot
June 17, 2025 – The FDA has expanded the use of Moderna's respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) shot to all adults, with some limits on who can get it. First approved in 2024 for people 60 or older, the mRESVIA vaccine protects against lower respiratory infections caused by RSV. This vaccine is now approved for adults ages 18 to 59 who have a higher risk of getting a serious RSV illness. RSV is a common virus that spreads easily in colder months through coughs, sneezes, or contact with contaminated surfaces. While it usually causes mild cold-like symptoms, it can be serious for babies and older adults. Vaccines and other preventive treatments offer the best protection against RSV. Moderna said the approval was supported by a study showing the vaccine is safe and works well for younger adults (ages 18 to 59) with medical conditions. Their immune response was just as strong as in older adults (60+), who had been studied earlier. All younger adults produced similar levels of protective antibodies against the two main types of RSV (RSV-A and RSV-B), showing the vaccine works well across at-risk adults of different ages. mRESVIA is an RNA vaccine that trains the body to make a harmless version of a protein used by the respiratory syncytial virus to enter human cells. This helps the immune system recognize the virus and build antibodies to protect against future infections. The vaccine does not contain RSV, so it cannot cause RSV illness. In clinical trials, the shot was generally well-tolerated. The most common side effects were mild and included pain where the needle went in, tiredness, headaches, muscle aches, joint pain, chills, nausea or vomiting, fever, and hives. Moderna plans to make mRESVIA available in the U.S. for the 2025-2026 respiratory virus season for high-risk adults ages 18 to 59 and all adults age 60 or older. Patients should tell their health care provider about any medical conditions they may have before getting the vaccine. This includes allergies, any serious reactions to vaccines in the past, current fever, any bleeding disorder or use of blood thinners, and a weakened immune system or use of medications that affect it. Patients should also say if they've already received another RSV vaccine or if they've ever fainted after getting a shot. There is a very small chance that mRESVIA can cause a severe allergic reaction, so patients may be asked to stay a while for observation after the shot.
