{"id":388715,"date":"2026-04-20T12:40:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T12:40:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/388715\/"},"modified":"2026-04-20T12:40:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T12:40:09","slug":"rsv-vaccine-in-pregnancy-cuts-baby-hospital-admissions-by-up-to-85","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/388715\/","title":{"rendered":"RSV vaccine in pregnancy cuts baby hospital admissions by up to 85%"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"A<\/a>image: \u00a9Anna Solovei| iStock
\n A UK study finds the RSV vaccine in pregnancy can reduce infant hospitalisation risk by up to 85%, especially when given in early stages<\/p>\n

A UK Health Security Agency<\/a> study found the RSV vaccine protects mothers and newborns, including preterm infants, providing over 80% protection against RSV.<\/p>\n

The study is believed to be the largest in the world to evaluate the effectiveness of maternal RSV vaccination in preventing hospitalisation of infants with RSV chest infection.<\/p>\n

NHS offers RSV vaccine in pregnancy to protect newborn babies from serious lung infection<\/p>\n

Respiratory syncytial virus<\/a> (RSV) is a common cause of coughs and colds, and almost all children get it at least once before they are two years old. In babies, RSV is a common cause of a type of chest infection called bronchiolitis, which can cause breathing problems and may need hospital treatment.<\/p>\n

In the UK, NHS guidance recommends RSV vaccination for all pregnant women to protect newborns from severe infection. The vaccine is offered from 28 weeks of pregnancy onwards, so the mother develops protective antibodies that cross the placenta before delivery. These antibodies provide temporary immunity in the first months of life, when infants are most at risk for bronchiolitis and hospital admission for serious illness. The vaccine requires a single injection during each pregnancy, typically administered through NHS maternity services or GP clinics as routine antenatal care.<\/p>\n

Maternal RSV vaccination provides strong protection for newborn babies<\/p>\n

The study followed nearly 300,000 babies born between September 2024 and March 2025,\u202frepresenting\u202faround 90% of all births in England during this period.<\/p>\n

Researchers analysed routinely collected electronic health records to assess the effectiveness of the RSV vaccine in preventing hospital admissions. Over 4,500 hospitalisations occurred during the study period, and the majority of infants\u2019 mothers had been vaccinated.<\/p>\n

Receiving the vaccine on schedule (week 28 or shortly afterwards) yielded the best results: babies born at least four weeks after maternal vaccination had nearly 85% protection. Vaccination later in pregnancy still provided benefit; immunisation 10 to 13 days before birth reduced hospital admissions by 50%.<\/p>\n

Matt Wilson,\u202fEpidemiologist at UKHSA, presenter and lead author, said:\u202f\u201dOur evaluation of the first season of the\u202fprogramme\u202fin England gives important confirmation that maternal RSV vaccination is highly protective for newborn infants, over 80%,\u202fand\u202fthat\u202feffectiveness reached nearly 85% when vaccination occurred at least 4 weeks before birth.<\/p>\n

These findings are\u202falso\u202fparticularly important for preterm infants,<\/a> who are among the most vulnerable to severe RSV infection.\u202f\u202fWith sufficient time between vaccination and birth, we saw good levels of protection in these babies. Giving the vaccination early in the third trimester, as recommended by the World Health Organization, could protect most preterm infants,\u202fso\u202fit\u2019s\u202fimportant that midwives and other healthcare workers offer vaccination on time with the schedule \u2013 and that pregnant women promptly take it up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maternal RSV vaccine uptake in England continues to climb, reaching 55% during the study period, and the latest data show uptake rising to 64.1% for women who gave birth in November 2025<\/p>\n

Dr\u202fConall Watson,\u202fConsultant Epidemiologist at UKHSA, one of the senior authors and national\u202f programme lead for RSV, said:\u202f\u201dRSV can cause life-threatening\u202fchest infections\u202ffor babies.\u202fHalf of newborns will have caught RSV before they are a year old. As an expectant\u202fparent, you have no idea if they are going to be severely ill\u202for not.<\/p>\n

Our\u202fanalysis of the RSV vaccination programme in England is important confirmation of the results from the clinical trial, but this study is 40 times bigger and\u202fclearly shows the hugely beneficial effect on reducing hospital admissions.\u202fGetting\u202fvaccinated in week 28 of pregnancy or\u202fsoon after\u202fgives\u202fexcellent\u202fprotection to\u202fboth\u202fterm and preterm babies\u202fwhen they are\u202ftiny and\u202fmost vulnerable to severe RSV.\u202fThe\u202fRSV\u202fvaccine\u202fgives a brilliant\u202fboost\u202fto\u202fthe\u202fpregnant woman\u2019s immune\u202fsystem\u202fso it can\u202fpass\u202fantibodies through the placenta\u202fand\u202fprotect the baby from the day they are born.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"image: \u00a9Anna Solovei| iStock A UK study finds the RSV vaccine in pregnancy can reduce infant hospitalisation risk…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":388716,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[44181,134,111,139,69,152028,56936],"class_list":{"0":"post-388715","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-child-health","9":"tag-health","10":"tag-new-zealand","11":"tag-newzealand","12":"tag-nz","13":"tag-pregnancy-health","14":"tag-vaccinations"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/388715","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=388715"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/388715\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/388716"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=388715"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=388715"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=388715"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}