RSV vaccine to be given to pregnant women
NHS offer vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) to pregnant women
For the first time, pregnant women, as well as older people, will be routinely offered the vaccination against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) on the NHS.
The routine vaccine comes in from this month (September) and will be offered to pregnant women from 28 weeks onwards.
As advised by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JSVI), the vaccine is approved by the medicine’s regulators in the UK.
Lung infections known as bronchiolitis, caused by RSV, create pressures on paediatric intensive care units and children's hospitals during the winter months.
According to the National Library of Medicine (1) the vaccination programme could elevate as many as 5,000 hospitalisations and reduce A&E infant attendances by 15,000.
Chief Executive of the UK Health Security Agency, Professor Jenny Harries told The Guardian: “This new vaccine offers huge opportunities to prevent severe illness in those most vulnerable to RSV, helping to protect lives and ease winter pressures for the NHS.”
She continued: “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.”
Chief midwifery officer for NHS England, Kate Brintworth also told The Guardian: “Vaccination is a vital means of protecting babies, women and families, as well as helping to manage increased pressures on NHS capacity during the winter period.”
She continued: “I would like to thank all those who have been working to make this ground-breaking vaccine rollout a reality, and with almost 30 years as a midwife myself, I appreciate all the efforts across the NHS in bringing together vaccination and maternity services so that it is easy for women to get a RSV jab as soon as they’re eligible.”
(1) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10928299/