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Seniors over 75 can now book appointments to be vaccinated against RSV as the Newfoundland and Labrador government rolls out a previously announced expansion of eligibility.
Vaccination clinics will operate across the province from Oct. 13 to 18. Appointments can be booked online through Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services, or by calling 833-951-3884.
Respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, is a common, highly-contagious virus that causes infections of the respiratory tract. It can have greater impacts on seniors and infants as it can cause respiratory distress.
“Normally it causes mild cold-like symptoms including a runny nose and a cough, but for some people it can lead to pretty severe disease,” Dr. Janice Fitzgerald, Newfoundland and Labrador’s chief medical officer of health, said Monday.
“There really isn’t any treatment for RSV specifically, so immunization really is the best way to prevent severe RSV disease and the complications that can happen from that.”
Fitzgerald said cases of RSV have been reported this season. While the disease can be seen in Newfoundland and Labrador all year, she said case numbers usually peak around November and after Christmas.
The Progressive Conservative government announced it would be expanding vaccine eligibility in April, allocating $3.9 million in the provincial budget to make the vaccine available for seniors over 75 and infants six months and under.
Health Minister Joedy Wall said vaccinations can reduce hospital admissions by over 80 per cent in RSV cases, citing data from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization.
WATCH | RSV risk is highest in the fall and early winter, says physician:
N.L. completes expansion of eligibility for RSV vaccine
Seniors over the age of 75 can now book appointments to get vaccinated against RSV. As the CBC’s Mark Quinn reports, it follows a government announcement in April to make the vaccine more accessible to seniors and infants alike.
Lynette Bowes, a St. John’s pediatrician and the health authority’s clinical chief of children’s and women’s health in the Eastern zone, said she hopes that will translate to relief for parents and babies during the busiest time of year for respiratory-related admissions.
“This is not only an admission burden, you know, when RSV season happens, but the babies become so unwell and need a ventilator to assist breathing,” Bowes said.
“This is really a safe product, so that’s very exciting … I think we’re going into this respiratory season with a little bit of optimism that, you know, some of those really sick babies won’t have to [be admitted.]”
Newborn babies have been offered the vaccine before they leave the hospital since May. Fitzgerald said preliminary uptake has been between 80 and 85 per cent, and encouraged parents to get babies vaccinated as soon as possible.
“For babies, the best protection comes with getting vaccinated before the baby leaves the hospital. ‘Cause the product that we’re giving, it works right away. It’s not quite like, you know, standard vaccines where it takes a couple of weeks to kick in,” she said.
“We are seeing RSV cases, so it’s best if people get their babies vaccinated before they leave the hospital.”
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