A higher-dose adjuvanted flu vaccine raised antibodies more than its predecessor, and what a negative mpox rapid test does not tell you

The edition in brief

A phase 3 trial of 7,699 adults aged 50 or older found an MF59-adjuvanted, cell-derived, higher-dose quadrivalent influenza vaccine produced higher day-29 antibody titres than the standard adjuvanted egg-derived vaccine for all four strains (GMT ratios 1.22 to 1.73), and was non-inferior to recombinant vaccine for three strains but not A/H3N2 (GMT ratio 0.69). It caused more local and systemic reactions, mostly mild and short-lived, and serious adverse events were similar. The trial measured antibodies, not infections prevented, and was industry funded. The FDA recorded a supplement on 24 September to a premixed daptomycin in saline product; the record does not specify what changed. A meta-analysis of nine studies found patients with tuberculosis and diabetes had higher triglycerides than those with tuberculosis alone, on very low certainty evidence. A diagnostic accuracy study from DR Congo, published in May, found the best of five mpox antigen tests detected 77% of PCR-positive lesion swabs with 93.5% specificity, and the worst only 39%: positive results can support diagnosis where PCR is unavailable, but negative results cannot exclude mpox. The pearl covers blood culture technique.