7NEWS<\/a>. <\/p>\nHospitals are not yet under significant pressure, but medical professionals are preparing for a busy period. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s not just those in the health industry who are concerned. One of Australia\u2019s most recognisable faces, Gold Logie-winning actress, Georgie Parker, is urging at-risk Aussies to take RSV seriously.<\/p>\n
\u201cLike many Australians, I\u2019d heard of RSV, but I didn\u2019t really understand how serious it could be or what it might mean for adults as we get older,\u201d the 61-year-old said. <\/p>\n
\u201cI assumed it was something that mainly affected people from an older generation than mine or those who were already quite vulnerable. What I didn\u2019t realise was that as we age, natural changes in our immune system can make it harder for our bodies to respond to infections like RSV.\u201d<\/p>\n
Health professionals are reminding those at risk to get vaccinated. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe fact that more than 700,000 vulnerable older Australians received the RSV vaccine in the first two months of the vaccination program is an outstanding effort by the community and immunisation providers,\u201d IFA founder Catherine Hughes said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, there is still a massive gap in RSV vaccination coverage and an urgent need for older adults to roll up their sleeves.\u201d<\/p>\n
In 2025 the RSV vaccine was made free for pregnant mothers, and in response to increasing cases, was made free to everyone over 75 in May 2026.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith so many Australians yet to be protected against RSV, it\u2019s essential that people speak to a healthcare professional about RSV protection. Now is the time to act \u2013 winter is far from over,\u201d AMA president Danielle McMullen said.<\/p>\n
The free RSV vaccine rollout has seen success among babies, with infant hospital admissions during the flu season being cut down by 70 per cent since 2024.<\/p>\n
\u201cEarly evidence shows that the program is a resounding success. Thousands of families are being spared the trauma of their baby being admitted to hospital and requiring oxygen support or intensive care due to RSV,\u201d Ms McMullen added. <\/p>\n
With hopes of a similar impact, Australians over the age of 75 are now being introduced to the same program. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Australians have been warned as Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) cases are expected to surge in the coming weeks.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":816477,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[391555,72756,391517,391557,391541,25668,4891,28329,214992,33482,216455,391520,391552,391558,391536,391547,391526,391530,22610,45470,391512,391548,391516,391525,391562,391521,64,27621,63,9461,22140,96405,128010,32092,4880,391527,391518,391537,391539,1420,40397,391564,376304,391523,137,33878,137117,4082,19900,81325,391532,391549,391519,27417,145,58801,12756,389089,304604,38898,391540,391556,391529,391524,41050,1422,391543,391545,391544,1861,377952,7818,324063,37542,1294,3850,391513,391560,391522,391561,391551,20637,4211,391511,391531,22386,391553,146596,378381,391546,390328,391514,379398,391534,391559,391563,391515,381031,391533,391542,376539,391550,391508,385061,239728,391510,391535,380519,391538,391528,199184,391509,364611,25230,6618,391554,1634,16962],"class_list":["post-816476","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-s-most-recognisable-faces","tag-72756","tag-000-cases","tag-000-rsv-cases","tag-000-vulnerable-older-australians","tag-25668","tag-4891","tag-28329","tag-214992","tag-33482","tag-7news","tag-a-busy-period","tag-a-common","tag-a-healthcare-professional","tag-a-massive-gap","tag-a-resounding-success","tag-a-shift","tag-a-similar-impact","tag-adults","tag-ama","tag-ama-president-danielle-mcmullen","tag-an-older-generation","tag-an-outstanding-effort","tag-an-urgent-need","tag-at-least-120","tag-at-risk-aussies","tag-au","tag-aussies","tag-australia","tag-australians","tag-awareness","tag-babies","tag-cases","tag-cent","tag-covid-19","tag-dangerous-respiratory-issues","tag-deadly-virus","tag-deanne-tingey","tag-early-evidence","tag-elderly","tag-families","tag-free-rsv-vaccine-rollout","tag-georgie-parker","tag-gold-logie-winning-actress","tag-health","tag-health-professionals","tag-hopes","tag-hospital","tag-hospitals","tag-ifa","tag-ifa-founder-catherine-hughes","tag-increasing-cases","tag-infant-hospital-admissions","tag-infections","tag-influenza","tag-intensive-care","tag-kids","tag-many-australians","tag-may-2026","tag-medical-professionals","tag-more-than-700","tag-more-than-83","tag-ms-mcmullen","tag-natural-changes","tag-number","tag-older-adults","tag-our-bodies","tag-our-immune-system","tag-oxygen-support-or","tag-people","tag-permission","tag-potential","tag-pregnant-mothers","tag-response","tag-risk","tag-rsv","tag-rsv-cases","tag-rsv-protection","tag-rsv-symptoms","tag-rsv-vaccination-coverage","tag-rsv-rsv","tag-school","tag-schools","tag-significant-pressure","tag-so-many-australians","tag-success","tag-the-61-year-old","tag-the-age","tag-the-australian-medical-association","tag-the-back-end","tag-the-coming-weeks","tag-the-community-and-immunisation-providers","tag-the-fact","tag-the-first-two-months","tag-the-flu-season","tag-the-health-industry","tag-the-immunisation-foundation","tag-the-program","tag-the-rsv-vaccine","tag-the-same-program","tag-the-time","tag-the-trauma","tag-the-vaccination-program","tag-the-virus","tag-the-worst","tag-their-baby","tag-their-sleeves","tag-this-season","tag-this-term","tag-this-video","tag-this-week","tag-this-winter","tag-this-year","tag-thousands","tag-time","tag-unsw-social-scientist-professor-holly-seale","tag-warning","tag-winter"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/816476","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=816476"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/816476\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/816477"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=816476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=816476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=816476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}