Expectant mothers are being urged to come forward for a vaccine this autumn as part of a new programme that could prevent 5,000 hospitalisations. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) is calling on pregnant women to get jabbed against Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV).
RSV is a common infection that tends to affect around 90 percent of children in the first two years of their lives. It typically causes mild, cold-like symptoms.
However, it can lead to severe lung infections like pneumonia and infant bronchiolitis and is a leading cause of infant mortality globally.
A recent analysis estimated that the new programme launching in England this autumn could typically prevent 5,000 hospitalisations and 15,000 emergency department attendances for infants.
This is based on the assumption that uptake among pregnant women will be around 60 percent. And it also estimated that the maternal programme could mean 70,000 fewer RSV illnesses in infants under 12 months, 20,000 fewer GP consultations and avoid more than 200 infants being admitted to intensive care units.
A second RSV vaccine programme will also be offered to people as they reach the age of 75.
Professor Dame Jenny Harries, chief executive of the UKHSA, said: “These two new RSV vaccine programmes – one for pregnant women and another for older adults as they turn 75 – offer huge opportunities to prevent severe illness in those most vulnerable to RSV, helping to protect lives as well as ease NHS winter pressures.
“UKHSA has provided critical scientific information to evidence the benefits of a national RSV immunisation programme and so the rollout of the vaccine is a truly positive moment for the public’s health. I urge all those eligible to take up the offer when the programmes begin in September.”
This message is backed by a mother from Southampton, Christine Burlison, whose baby became seriously ill from the virus. Christine’s daughter and son both contracted the respiratory condition as babies.
Christine’s daughter Aria was 11 days old when she began struggling to breathe and was hospitalised. Doctors said she had developed bronchiolitis, a blocking of the airways in the lungs, as a result of RSV.
Aria recovered, but after her little brother Jude was born, he also got RSV. But this time the family knew how to spot the signs, and he was only in hospital for a few hours.
Christine said: “Now having the option of a vaccine that could prevent other families having to go through the same experiences as ours did is simply amazing.
“The most terrible thing that you can face as a parent is seeing your child struggling to breathe. Knowing now that there is a vaccine that could remove all that worry, and anxiety is just incredible. Having that protection for a newborn is all you could wish for as a parent.”
The vaccine will be offered from September 1. In addition to the maternal vaccine programme, a free RSV vaccine will also be offered to all those turning 75 years on or after 1 September, along with a one-off campaign for those already aged 75 to 79 years.
It is believed that the first season of the older adult’s catch-up programme could prevent around 2,500 hospital admissions, 15,000 GP visits and 60,000 RSV illnesses in adults in this age group.