The UK government has announced a national vaccination programme to protect infants and older adults against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
The rollout will make the UK the first country worldwide to have a national programme that uses the same vaccine, Pfizer’s Abrysvo, to protect both age populations against the common respiratory virus.
The scheme will begin in September in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, while Scotland will start the vaccinations in August.
RSV is characterised by several mild, cold-like symptoms. Although most people can recover within a week or two, it can cause severe illness such as bronchiolitis and pneumonia in certain groups, including young infants and older adults.
Approximately 30,000 hospitalisations in children aged under five years and 9,000 hospital admissions in those aged over 75 years are caused by RSV every year in the UK.
The new initiative will include a vaccine for pregnant women over 28 weeks to help protect their babies, a routine programme for those aged over 75 years and a one-off campaign for people aged 75 to 79 years.
Steve Russell, NHS national director for vaccinations and screening, described the rollout as “a huge step forward [that] will undoubtedly save the lives of many of those most at risk”.
“We strongly encourage those aged 75 to 79 to come forward for their vaccine when they are invited from September and for women who are 28 or more weeks pregnant to speak to their maternity service or GP surgery to ensure their [babies are] protected,” he said.
Pfizer’s Abrysvo was approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency in November last year to protect both infants through maternal immunisation and older adults against RSV.
The UK regulator’s decision was supported by positive results from the late-stage MATISSE and RENOIR trials.
In MATISSE, the vaccine demonstrated 81.8% efficacy in preventing severe medically attended lower respiratory tract illness in infants in the first 90 days after birth and 69.4% efficacy within 180 days, while an interim analysis of RENOIR showed the vaccine was 85.7% effective among older adults with two or more symptoms of RSV and 66.7% for those with two or more symptoms.
Pfizer has since shared further positive results supporting the use of the vaccine, including from a late-stage trial in adults aged 18 to 59 years who are at an increased risk of developing severe RSV-associated disease.