Cases of deadly lung virus that strikes babies ‘plummets 72% due to new vaccine' – is your child eligible?
ARM'S UP Cases of deadly lung virus that strikes babies 'plummets 72% due to new vaccine' – is your child eligible?
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A LUNG virus that can be deadly in babies has plummeted by 72 per cent thanks to a new vaccine.
It's the first real world data showing the effectiveness of the RSV jab - but figures suggest uptake is not high.
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A new vaccine was proven to work to slash cases of a deadly lung virus last winter
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The NHS rolled out the RSV vaccine programme from summer 2024, targetting at-risk groups.
Researchers at the University of Edinburgh and Leicester found it led to a 72 per cent reduction in babies hospitalised with the virus if mothers were vaccinated in pregnancy.
The antibodies the mums produce in response to the jab are passed to their babies in the womb, protecting them for the first six months after being born.
Uptake of the jab among pregnant women could help to limit the number of sick babies each winter, reducing hospital pressures, experts say.
Dr Thomas Williams, study lead from the University of Edinburgh's Institute for Regeneration and Repair, and Paediatric Consultant at the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People in Edinburgh, said: 'There is an excellent opportunity for pregnant women to get vaccinated and protect themselves and their infants from RSV bronchiolitis this coming winter.'
Professor Damian Roland from the Leicester Hospitals and University and Consultant in Paediatric Emergency Medicine, said: "Our work highlights the value of vaccination and in keeping with the treatment to prevention principle of the NHS 10 Year plan, we would ask all health care systems to consider how they will optimise the roll out of RSV vaccination for mothers."
RSV is a common virus that causes coughs and colds but can lead to a severe lung infection called bronchiolitis, which can be dangerous in babies.
Every year, around 30,000 children and 24,000 adults in the UK end up in hospital with severe breathing problems caused by the virus, including pneumonia and bronchiolitis.
Each winter, about 100 children die from RSV.
RSV vaccine
The virus is the main infectious cause of hospitalisation for babies in the UK and globally.
The research team looked at 537 babies across England and Scotland who had been admitted to hospital with severe respiratory disease last winter.
Of them, 391 of the babies tested positive for RSV.
Mums of babies who did not have RSV were two times more likely to have received the vaccine before delivery than the mothers of RSV-positive babies – 41 per cent compared with 19 per cent.
Receiving the vaccine more than 14 days before delivery offered a higher protective effect, with a 72 per cent reduction in hospital admissions compared with 58 per cent for infants whose mothers were vaccinated at any time before delivery.
But previous research has found that only half of expectant mothers in England and Scotland are currently receiving the RSV vaccine.
Pregnant women are eligible from 28 weeks.
People aged between 75 and 79 are also offered the jab.
Can you get the RSV vaccine?
The RSV vaccine helps protect against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a common virus that can make babies and older adults seriously ill.
If you're eligible to receive it, you should be contacted by your GP surgery and offered an appointment.
This includes: People aged 75 to 79
Those who turned 80 after September 1, 2024
Pregnant people from 28 weeks onwards
You can visit nhs.uk/book-rsv to book a pharmacy appointment near you.
It's best to get your RSV vaccine on a different day from your flu and Covid-19 vaccine to ensure its effectiveness.
It comes as NHS chieds say hundreds of babies will be kept out of hospital thanks to a new pneumonia jab rolled out this winter.
Higher risk babies can receive the nirsevimab vaccine from September – with the single jab replacing five monthly injections previously given to infants classed as being at high risk.
It will protect them against RSV which is even more serious in high-risk infants.
Around 7,000 babies will be eligible and get about 80 per cent protection for six months from a single injection.
The previous weekly treatment was only 55 per cent effective.
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