Latest news with #nirsevimab
The Independent
19-07-2025
- Health
- The Independent
NHS to roll out new vital jab for premature babies
The NHS in England will roll out a new jab, nirsevimab, this autumn to protect premature babies from respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). From late September, the single-dose injection will be offered to infants born before 32 weeks, providing six months of protection and replacing previous monthly injections. Experts anticipate the drug will offer a 'protective bubble' for thousands of vulnerable infants, significantly reducing their risk of severe illness and hospitalisation from RSV. Approximately 9,000 babies across the UK, including those in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, are expected to benefit from this new immunisation programme. Trial data indicates nirsevimab offers over 80 per cent protection against RSV, a common virus responsible for around 30,000 hospital admissions and 30 deaths among youngsters in the UK annually.
Yahoo
19-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Premature babies to be immunised against winter virus
Thousands of premature babies in the UK can now be protected against a common winter virus which can cause a dangerous lung infection, and sometimes kill. The injection will provide them "with a protective bubble" against RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) in time for the colder months, NHS medics said. Most babies are protected via vaccination late in pregnancy, but babies born before 32 weeks are more vulnerable to life-threatening infections from the virus. From late September, 9,000 babies and young children at risk across the UK will be offered a dose of the drug nirsevimab through the NHS. RSV usually causes coughs and colds, but can make some children very ill with breathing problems, pneumonia and a lung infection called bronchiolitis. According to NHS England, premature babies are three times more likely to go to hospital with RSV and are 10 times more likely to need intensive care compared with full-term babies. Every year around 30,000 children in the UK aged under five need hospital care because of the virus, and around 30 don't survive. The drug offers six months' protection in a single dose, and is more than 80% effective. Neo-natal clinics will deliver the injection to premature babies. Families of vulnerable infants with heart or lung conditions or weakened immune systems will be advised by their medical teams how to get the jab before this winter. "It will offer a long-lasting defence, helping to avoid unnecessary hospitalisations and serious illness, giving babies the best possible start in life and shielding them from harm," said Dr Claire Fuller, co-national medical director for NHS England. Ill baby's mum urges pregnant women to get RSV jab RSV jab could cut baby hospitalisations by 80% - study Last year, a vaccination programme was launched in the UK to protect newborn babies and older people from RSV. Women who are at least 28 weeks' pregnant and people aged 75 to 79 are now offered that vaccine, called abrysvo. The jab boosts a woman's immune system during pregnancy and protects babies in their first weeks of life. But babies born prematurely, before 32 weeks, don't have time to build up protection from that vaccine before they're born. They will be given nirsevimab instead. Unlike a vaccine, which prompts the body to create antibodies and takes a few weeks to be effective, nirsevimab gives immediate protection from RSV infection. Ceri Cox, 33, wanted her son, Harry, aged two, to be protected as much as possible against RSV. As a paediatric nurse, she has seen the damage it can do. "I know quite a bit about the virus from working in a unit where we see a lot of children with RSV every year," she said. "It's amazing that this immunisation will now be offered to young babies around the country. I hope we will see fewer little ones in our hospital this winter." Harry took part in an international clinical trial of the immunisation at University Hospital Southampton. Premature babies and high-risk infants in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will benefit from the drug. What are the symptoms of RSV? They usually start within a few days of being infected. Most people only get cold-like symptoms, such as: a runny or blocked nose a cough sneezing tiredness a high temperature – signs include your back or chest feeling hotter than usual, sweatiness and shivering (chills) Babies with RSV may also be irritable and feed less than usual. If RSV leads to a more serious infection (such as pneumonia or bronchiolitis) it may also cause: a cough that gets worse shortness of breath faster breathing or long gaps between breaths difficulty feeding (in babies) or loss of appetite noisy breathing (wheezing) confusion (in older adults) Source: NHS UK website RSV jabs start for pregnant women and older people Antibody jab approved for common winter virus RSV Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
19-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Premature babies to be immunised against winter virus
Thousands of premature babies in the UK can now be protected against a common winter virus which can cause a dangerous lung infection, and sometimes kill. The injection will provide them "with a protective bubble" against RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) in time for the colder months, NHS medics said. Most babies are protected via vaccination late in pregnancy, but babies born before 32 weeks are more vulnerable to life-threatening infections from the virus. From late September, 9,000 babies and young children at risk across the UK will be offered a dose of the drug nirsevimab through the NHS. RSV usually causes coughs and colds, but can make some children very ill with breathing problems, pneumonia and a lung infection called bronchiolitis. According to NHS England, premature babies are three times more likely to go to hospital with RSV and are 10 times more likely to need intensive care compared with full-term babies. Every year around 30,000 children in the UK aged under five need hospital care because of the virus, and around 30 don't survive. The drug offers six months' protection in a single dose, and is more than 80% effective. Neo-natal clinics will deliver the injection to premature babies. Families of vulnerable infants with heart or lung conditions or weakened immune systems will be advised by their medical teams how to get the jab before this winter. "It will offer a long-lasting defence, helping to avoid unnecessary hospitalisations and serious illness, giving babies the best possible start in life and shielding them from harm," said Dr Claire Fuller, co-national medical director for NHS England. Ill baby's mum urges pregnant women to get RSV jab RSV jab could cut baby hospitalisations by 80% - study Last year, a vaccination programme was launched in the UK to protect newborn babies and older people from RSV. Women who are at least 28 weeks' pregnant and people aged 75 to 79 are now offered that vaccine, called abrysvo. The jab boosts a woman's immune system during pregnancy and protects babies in their first weeks of life. But babies born prematurely, before 32 weeks, don't have time to build up protection from that vaccine before they're born. They will be given nirsevimab instead. Unlike a vaccine, which prompts the body to create antibodies and takes a few weeks to be effective, nirsevimab gives immediate protection from RSV infection. Ceri Cox, 33, wanted her son, Harry, aged two, to be protected as much as possible against RSV. As a paediatric nurse, she has seen the damage it can do. "I know quite a bit about the virus from working in a unit where we see a lot of children with RSV every year," she said. "It's amazing that this immunisation will now be offered to young babies around the country. I hope we will see fewer little ones in our hospital this winter." Harry took part in an international clinical trial of the immunisation at University Hospital Southampton. Premature babies and high-risk infants in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will benefit from the drug. What are the symptoms of RSV? They usually start within a few days of being infected. Most people only get cold-like symptoms, such as: a runny or blocked nose a cough sneezing tiredness a high temperature – signs include your back or chest feeling hotter than usual, sweatiness and shivering (chills) Babies with RSV may also be irritable and feed less than usual. If RSV leads to a more serious infection (such as pneumonia or bronchiolitis) it may also cause: a cough that gets worse shortness of breath faster breathing or long gaps between breaths difficulty feeding (in babies) or loss of appetite noisy breathing (wheezing) confusion (in older adults) Source: NHS UK website RSV jabs start for pregnant women and older people Antibody jab approved for common winter virus RSV
BBC News
18-07-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Premature babies in UK to be immunised against winter virus RSV
Thousands of premature babies in the UK can now be protected against a common winter virus which can cause a dangerous lung infection, and sometimes injection will provide them "with a protective bubble" against RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) in time for the colder months, NHS medics babies are protected via vaccination late in pregnancy, but babies born before 32 weeks are more vulnerable to life-threatening infections from the late September, 9,000 babies and young children at risk across the UK will be offered a dose of the drug nirsevimab through the NHS. RSV usually causes coughs and colds, but can make some children very ill with breathing problems, pneumonia and a lung infection called to NHS England, premature babies are three times more likely to go to hospital with RSV and are 10 times more likely to need intensive care compared with full-term year around 30,000 children in the UK aged under five need hospital care because of the virus, and around 30 don't drug offers six months' protection in a single dose, and is more than 80% clinics will deliver the injection to premature babies. Families of vulnerable infants with heart or lung conditions or weakened immune systems will be advised by their medical teams how to get the jab before this winter."It will offer a long-lasting defence, helping to avoid unnecessary hospitalisations and serious illness, giving babies the best possible start in life and shielding them from harm," said Dr Claire Fuller, co-national medical director for NHS England. Last year, a vaccination programme was launched in the UK to protect newborn babies and older people from RSV. Women who are at least 28 weeks' pregnant and people aged 75 to 79 are now offered that vaccine, called jab boosts a woman's immune system during pregnancy and protects babies in their first weeks of babies born prematurely, before 32 weeks, don't have time to build up protection from that vaccine before they're will be given nirsevimab a vaccine, which prompts the body to create antibodies and takes a few weeks to be effective, nirsevimab gives immediate protection from RSV infection. Ceri Cox, 33, wanted her son, Harry, aged two, to be protected as much as possible against RSV. As a paediatric nurse, she has seen the damage it can do."I know quite a bit about the virus from working in a unit where we see a lot of children with RSV every year," she said. "It's amazing that this immunisation will now be offered to young babies around the country. I hope we will see fewer little ones in our hospital this winter."Harry took part in an international clinical trial of the immunisation at University Hospital Southampton. Premature babies and high-risk infants in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will benefit from the drug. What are the symptoms of RSV? They usually start within a few days of being people only get cold-like symptoms, such as:a runny or blocked nosea coughsneezingtirednessa high temperature – signs include your back or chest feeling hotter than usual, sweatiness and shivering (chills)Babies with RSV may also be irritable and feed less than RSV leads to a more serious infection (such as pneumonia or bronchiolitis) it may also cause:a cough that gets worseshortness of breathfaster breathing or long gaps between breathsdifficulty feeding (in babies) or loss of appetitenoisy breathing (wheezing)confusion (in older adults)Source: NHS UK website
ABC News
04-07-2025
- Health
- ABC News
Mothers in Victoria write to health minister amid confusion about RSV injection
A group of Victorian mothers have written to the health minister after struggling to get their children an antibody nirsevimab injection as part of the state's free RSV vaccination program. When Alissa Holder took her six-month-old baby to get a routine vaccination in April, she had no idea the ordeal she and her child was about to endure. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a highly infectious illness that infects up to 90 per cent of children in their first two years. It is one of the most common causes of hospitalisation of infants in Australia. This year the Victorian government introduced a program to provide free antibody nirsevimab injections, or the RSV shot, to eligible women and infants until late September 2025. Ms Holder saw seven doctors and five nurses in an effort to get her baby protected against RSV but said she was repeatedly denied the shot despite being eligible. A nurse from one clinic later confirmed her baby was eligible but that the clinic did not offer nirsevimab. She was advised to "doctor shop". On June 7, Ms Holder called triple-0 because her baby was coughing and struggling to breathe. Five days later, Ms Holder's baby tested positive for RSV. Ms Holder is now part of a group of 10 Ballarat parents with similarly confounding experiences that have written to Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas about "the inequitable, confusing and ultimately dangerous … roll-out of the program in [the Ballarat] area". Amy Fuller contributed to the letter to Ms Thomas, detailing her month-long "stressful" process to get her newborn the nirsevimab shot. "We were originally told by the maternal child health nurse when we went for our normal vaccinations that we weren't eligible." Ms Fuller was later told by a GP that her baby was eligible, but that the clinic did not have any nirsevimab medicine. "We rang around Ballarat looking for vaccines and most places didn't have them," she said. Ms Fuller eventually found two clinics that offered the shot but was denied access because they were not "regular patients" at those clinics. She only recently got her child protected against the virus at a clinic but said there was still confusion. "They weren't entirely sure [about the injection]," Ms Fuller said. "One of them told us it was a live vaccine, one told us it wasn't, and they weren't sure if we had to wait 15 minutes or not [afterwards]." In the letter to the health minister, one mother said their doctors advised them the RSV injection "did not exist" and other parents said that some clinics could only order one dose per week or per month. Ms Thomas's office did not respond to a request for comment for this article, instead referring the ABC to the Department of Health. Under the Victorian RSV Mother and Infant Protection Program: The ABC understands the Department of Health is aware of the confusion about the RSV program within Victorian clinics and has since redistributed information and literature. "There is no shortage of nirsevimab in Victoria," a department spokesperson said. "Providers have been advised to order only what they need for scheduled appointments to ensure fair and efficient distribution. "Order limits have been relaxed as the respiratory illness season has progressed." The department said it had proactively sought to support health providers with additional information and guidance, including direct engagement with GP clinic staff. It said 46,000 doses of maternal RSV vaccine Abrysvo and more than 23,000 doses of nirsevimab had been distributed in Victoria. Ramya Raman, a practising GP and the Royal Australian College of GPs vice-president, said her patients had voiced confusion about the RSV injection. "The rate at which the public policy has been rolled out has been a little bit staggered and different between the states, and that's probably contributed a little bit to the confusion," Dr Raman said. She advised against doctor shopping. "It's important to have a regular GP because it means that that doctor will know exactly the family history, the mum's history, and will be able to advise appropriately whether they are eligible or not eligible," Dr Raman said. The day after her baby tested positive for RSV, Ms Holder got a call from the first nurse she met with, who apologised. The nurse went on to say that her baby was in fact eligible for RSV protection and she had since begun administering the jab to other infants as a result of multiple parents asking questions. "When it comes to health care it's important [governing bodies] don't leave any room for misinterpretation … because it can lead to illness and potentially death," Ms Holder said. "Make it really clear and simple and in plain English so that anyone can understand it." Editorial note 4/7/2025: The nirsevimap injection is not a vaccine, but a is a long-acting monoclonal antibody that can be given to infants to protect them from severe Respiratory Syncytial Virus disease. There is an RSV vaccine available for pregnant women, Arexvy and Abrysvo.
