If your patient is pregnant or older than 60 years and due for a respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) shot, now\u2019s the time to act.<\/p>\n
A major new review highlighted the vaccine\u2019s impact and safety, particularly for older adults and infants \u2014 the groups most at risk for severe illness from the virus.<\/p>\n
In adults aged 60 or older, the vaccine reduced RSV-related illness by 77% and serious illness by 67% compared to placebo. For babies, the maternal vaccine reduced RSV-related illness by 54%, severe illness by 74%, and hospitalizations by 54%.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese data really help us feel more confident in the results of how stunning and effective these vaccines are and how safe they are,\u201d said Yvonne Maldonado, MD, chief of the division of infectious diseases in the Department of Pediatrics at Stanford Medicine, Palo Alto, California.<\/p>\n
RSV vaccines were approved 2 years ago, and evidence supporting their safety and effectiveness continues to grow. A 2022 phase 3 clinical trial<\/a> found that the maternal vaccine cut infants\u2019 hospitalization risk by 57% within 6 months of birth, and real-world data from the 2023-2024 season showed that vaccines for older adults reduced hospitalization risk by 73%-83%<\/a>. The new analysis published Monday<\/a> pulled together data from 14 clinical trials involving more than 100,000 people \u2014 offering the strongest confirmation yet that the shots work, Maldonado said.<\/p>\n \u201cEach trial only tells part of the story,\u201d said KM Saif-Ur-Rahman, PhD, lead author of the study and senior researcher at the University of Galway, Galway, Ireland. Pooling data from multiple trials enables \u201ca much clearer and more reliable picture than any single study could provide.\u201d<\/p>\n With RSV season fast approaching, the findings reinforce current guidance: Encourage vaccination now in patients between weeks 32 and 36 of pregnancy and in adults aged 60 or older with risk factors<\/a>.<\/p>\n A Vaccine Decades in the Making<\/p>\n It took researchers decades to get RSV vaccines right, following a failed attempt in the mid-1960s<\/a>. In 2012, the discovery of a protein on the surface of the virus (prefusion F) sped up development \u2014 before then, testing for RSV was rare, and the effects of the virus not well understood.<\/p>\n Scientists now know that RSV can be just as serious as the flu<\/a> for adults \u2014 especially those aged 60 or older. In the US, studies suggest 60,000-160,000 older adults are hospitalized with RSV each year, and up to 10,000 of them die from the virus.<\/p>\n RSV also sends more infants to the hospital than any other illness<\/a>. Every year, about 2% of children<\/a> younger than 5 years are hospitalized with RSV, which can lead to complications<\/a> like chronic asthma<\/a> or severe bronchiolitis<\/a>. While infant deaths from RSV are rare in the US \u2014 likely due to increased use of the vaccines<\/a> \u2014 the virus kills at least 100,000<\/a> children globally every year.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a really important disease that we don\u2019t talk about very much,\u201d said Maldonado, who was not involved in the study review.<\/p>\n What We Still Don\u2019t Know<\/p>\n Currently, eligible older adults and pregnant people receive a single dose of the RSV vaccine \u2014 and that\u2019s it. But scientists still aren\u2019t sure how long their immunity to the virus lasts. Like flu and colds, RSV attacks the nose and airways \u2014 a trait that tends to produce shorter-lasting immunity, so \u201cthere might be a need for boosters,\u201d Maldonado said.<\/p>\n RSV vaccines containing live replicating virus \u2014 which<\/a> are still in development<\/a>\u2014 could provide longer-term protection, she said, but more research is needed to determine how well they work. The Cochrane Review included five clinical trials of these investigational (unauthorized) live RSV vaccines in infants and children and found \u201cvery uncertain\u201d evidence of effectiveness compared to placebo. This uncertainty reflects limited data and small sample sizes, rather than conclusive evidence of ineffectiveness.<\/p>\n Later this fall, the researchers plan to publish two more analyses of different RSV vaccines\u2019 effectiveness and safety.<\/p>\n