In recent years, however COVID-19 has not only captured public health attention, but also overshadowed the development of the first RSV vaccine.
“[RSV] can be very risky, but people are not as aware of it as a virus itself,” Dr. Sujata Ambardaran infectious disease specialist Inova Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church, Virginia Assets. “You think about COVID, flu and other viruses.”
Although Ambardar believes that awareness of RSV is increasing, she points out that this is accompanied by the existing lack of patient education COVID And flu-related Vaccine fatigue – may account for minimal interest in it Trio of new RSV vaccines for people aged 60 and over.
Just 18 months ago there was no RSV vaccine. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the country’s first RSV vaccine, GSK’s Arexvyon May 3, 2023. In a opinion on this day, Dr. Peter MarksDirector of the FDA Center for Biologics Evaluation and Researchconsidered the occasion “an important public health achievement to prevent a disease that can be life-threatening.”
The FDA approved Pfizer’s Abrysvo on May 31, 2023 and exactly a year later did the same for Moderna mResvia. But from spring 2024 – just a few weeks before mResvia is approved –less than 25% of eligible adults ages 60 and older had received an RSV vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
One in five older adults plans to get an RSV vaccination
Vaccine uptake is not expected to be much better during the 2024-25 respiratory virus season. Less than two in five (38%) Eligible recipients plan to receive an RSV vaccination, according to a survey conducted by the U.S. in August National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID)including 21% who said “definitely” and 17% who said “probably.” Nearly half (44%) said they were unsure (18%) or did not plan (26%) to get vaccinated.
Those who said they would not get vaccinated gave the following reasons:
- Concerns about vaccine side effects: 45%
- Concerns about getting sick from the vaccine: 38%
- Mistrust of vaccinations in general: 38%
- The doctor didn’t recommend it: 24%
The novelty of the RSV vaccines also fuels mistrust, says the medical director of the NFID Dr. Robert Hopkins Jr.
“Part of it is that we are seeing an overall decline Trust in vaccinesa general decline in trust in many things related to healthcare,” says Hopkins Assets. “That’s a big part of our barrier. I think it’s also a challenge for a lot of people in the public to say, “Wait a minute, why haven’t I heard of this virus if it’s so important?”
Alternatively, survey respondents who said they would get vaccinated or were unsure considered the following factors:
- To protect yourself: 72%
- To avoid serious complications, including hospitalization and death: 61%
- Doctor’s recommendation: 59%
- To protect your family: 58%
Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images
What is RSV?
Like COVID, flu, and the common cold, RSV is a respiratory virus that infects your lungs, nose, and throat. RSV season In the U.S., the disease typically occurs in the fall and winter, peaking in December and January, according to the CDC. However, in some warmer climates it is always RSV season – such as: Southeast Florida– and you can catch the virus all year round, no matter where you live.
What are RSV symptoms?
Most people with RSV have the following mild, cold-like symptomssays the CDC, which manifest four to six days after infection:
- traffic jam
- Cough
- Decreased appetite
- Fever
- Runny nose
- Sneeze
- Panting
The only symptoms in infants may be irritability, difficulty breathing and reduced activity. If your symptoms worsen, you have difficulty breathing, or are not drinking enough fluids, seek emergency medical attention.
In most cases, adequate hydration and over-the-counter pain medications can help manage your symptoms during the week or two it takes you to recover from RSV. However, children under 5 years old and adults 60 years and older are at high risk of serious infection leading to hospitalization. The latter are also in mortal danger.
Older adults with RSV can develop pneumonia, and patients with complications such as asthma, heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) may experience worsening of the condition, according to the CDC. Each year in the United States, approximately 6,000 to 10,000 people are age 65 and older die from RSV. In a study published last year in the Journal of Clinical Virology In subjects with an average age of 75 years, RSV infections were more severe than flu infections.
While RSV is common among young children and often poses a serious threat to them, it is important for the public to understand that the virus does not only affect young children, says Ambardar. In fact, children may be the source of infection for an even more vulnerable group.
“Especially for people over 75, [RSV] can require hospitalization and can be quite serious – and we don’t think about it that way because we only associate it with children,” she says Assets. “There are grandparents visiting their grandchildren, and the grandchildren could be the ones carrying the virus. The grandfather who is 75 or 80 years old may get sick and may not even realize it when he goes to the emergency room because he thinks: flu.”
Who should receive an RSV vaccine?
All three RSV vaccines are approved by the FDA for adults 60 and older, but approved by the CDC in the summer has updated its vaccination recommendations:
- Everyone age 75 and older will receive the RSV vaccine
- People aged 60 to 74 who are at increased risk of severe RSV infection, meaning they have certain chronic illnesses such as lung or heart disease, or live in nursing homes, will receive the RSV vaccine
Although the CDC has not officially recommended an RSV vaccine for the general population under age 60, the FDA confirmed this in June Arexvy is approved for adults ages 50 to 59 who are at increased risk of RSV disease of the lower respiratory tract. If in doubt, discuss with your doctor which RSV vaccine might be right for you.
No vaccine is approved for babies. However, expectant parents can provide their unborn children with passive immunity by receiving the Abrysvo vaccine late in pregnancy. Infants whose birthing parent was unvaccinated may be eligible Treatment with monoclonal antibodies called Nirsevimab.
Here’s a breakdown of who is eligible for which RSV vaccinations:
- Moderna mRNA vaccine (mResvia)
- Suitable for adults aged 60 and over
- 1 dose required
- Recommended from late summer to early autumn
- Pfizer Protein vaccine (Abrysvo)
- Shown for
- Adults 60+ (recommended from late summer to early fall)
- People in the 32nd to 36th week of pregnancy (recommended from September to January)
- 1 dose required
- Shown for
- GSK Protein vaccine (Arexvy)
- Shown for
- Adults 60+
- Adults between 50 and 59 years of age are at high risk of lower respiratory tract disease caused by RSV
- 1 dose required
- Recommended from late summer to early autumn
- Shown for
Flu and now COVID vaccines are reformulated every year because the corresponding viruses mutate relatively quickly. RSV evolves more slowly, according to Hopkins, meaning that, at least for now, a single dose of the RSV vaccine is enough to ward off a serious infection.
“We now have three vaccines available for older adults,” says Hopkins, “and so my hope is that as we get more data, we may be able to expand their use beyond the current groups for which they are recommended , and can provide protection for a larger proportion of our population.”
More information about vaccines:
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