A study found that immunizations could cut newborn RSV hospital admissions by 80%

A “groundbreaking” study suggests that a vaccine could reduce hospital admissions for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in newborns and early children by 80%.

The study, which was released in the peer-reviewed New England Journal of Medicine, included 8,058 healthy babies from the UK, France, and Germany who were preparing for their first RSV season and up to the age of 12 months.

4,021 of the infants in this group received conventional care, while 4,037 were randomly assigned to receive the nirsevimab vaccination.

In contrast to 60 (1.5%) of the infants who received only normal care, only 11 (0.3%) of the infants who received the immunization ended up in the hospital, according to the research.

The experiment showed that nirsevimab had an effectiveness rate of 83.2%; in previously healthy newborns, this translated into a reduction in the chance of hospital admission from six admissions per 1,000 to one admission per 1,000.

Support for the study came from Sanofi and AstraZeneca.

RSV is a common chest illness that primarily affects newborns and young children. Usually, the RSV season spans from October until April.

While RSV typically presents with mild symptoms similar to a cold, in some newborns, the virus can progress and lead to problems such as pneumonia and bronchiolitis.

In England, a significant proportion of hospital admissions for infants are related to RSV infections; over 31,000 children under the age of four are admitted annually. In the UK, RSV kills 20 to 30 babies annually; worldwide, the virus kills 100,000 children under five annually.

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Nerisimab was given a license to be used by the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency in November 2022, but the medication hasn’t yet been made available as part of a vaccination campaign.

Prof. Calum Semple, a professor of child health and epidemic medicine at the University of Liverpool and a respiratory consultant at the Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, called the trial’s results “splendid.”.

“In the United Kingdom, respiratory syncytial virus causes suffering to tens of thousands of infants during their first year of life,” he stated. In infants, RSV usually results in a heavy-snotty cold and earache, but it can also lead to bronchiolitis, a serious condition that can cause dehydration, feeding difficulties, hospital-treated chest infections, and respiratory failure requiring treatment in an intensive care unit.

Babies with RSV infections develop bronchiolitis, which increases hospital admissions in the winter and maintains overcrowding in children’s hospitals.

“One injection of nirsevimab has proven to be quite beneficial in healthy newborns. Expanding the seasonal RSV vaccine program to cover all infants would be a reasonable step towards lowering hospital care expenses and shielding infants from the anguish of bronchiolitis.

Dr. Simon Drysdale, co-leader of the study and consultant pediatrician at St. George’s University hospitals, said RSV is a very contagious infection that causes many feeding and respiratory problems for newborns on our wards every year. The increased frequency of hospital admissions during the winter months causes enormous distress to families and lays a heavy burden on the National Health Service (NHS). This innovative study demonstrates the safety and potential effects of a monoclonal antibody injection on the National Health Service.