NHS Rolls out RSV Vaccine to Pregnant Women and the Elderly

A logo of US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and a close up of a needle, dated Nov. 17, 2020. Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images

The NHS has begun vaccinating pregnant women and older people against a usually mild respiratory virus that can occasionally cause serious complications in babies and the elderly.

Officials hailed the “landmark” respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) programme as one that could prevent thousands of hospital admissions, easing pressure on the NHS during winter.

From this week, women will be offered the vaccine from 28 weeks of pregnancy, while those turning 75 after September 1 will also be offered it, with a one-off catch-up programme targeting those aged 75 to 79. Scotland began the same rollout in August.

Pfizer Won Vaccine Race Against GSK

Made by Pfizer, the vaccine known as Abrysvo is part of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s (MHRA’s) Black Triangle Scheme, meaning it will be monitored more closely than established drugs for side effects and adverse reactions.

The latest data shows more women in the UK are choosing to have a vaccine-free pregnancy, amid increasing concerns about possible side-effects and efficacy following the COVID-19 jab rollout.

Data from the clinical trials of the new jab “showed an excess of preterm births in the vaccinated group. A more detailed scrutiny of the Pfizer data by the committee showed no excess of preterm birth in HICs [high-income countries], with the excess confined to the study sites in the upper middle-income countries (UMIC),” according to the government.

Pre-Term Birth Risk

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) concluded that it was “relatively reassured that there is not an obvious signal of preterm births in HICs. There is not a full understanding of the cause of the signal in UMIC settings ... No difference in neonatal deaths was observed between intervention and control groups, and in fact deaths were lower in the vaccinated group compared with the control group. Potentially, vaccinating later in pregnancy might mitigate any potential risks of prematurity.”

A rival RSV vaccine in development by British pharmaceutical giant GSK was withdrawn in 2022 after a signal for premature birth was detected in trials. Some experts criticised Pfizer for not informing pregnant women in its trial that GSK’s similar vaccine was halted over the pre-term birth risk, according to an investigation by the British Medical Journal.

The new NHS programme follows guidance from the JCVI, which advises the government on jabs and considers the “economic burden” to the NHS as part of its decision-making process.

A vaccine against RSV has been sought for decades by the pharmaceutical industry.

Nature magazine reported how in the 1960s, a trial looking for such a vaccine went “terribly wrong” and instead of protecting the children who received the jabs from the illness, they were left more vulnerable to it. Around 80 percent of the youngsters developed bronchiolitis and pneumonia so severe that it required hospitalisation, and two of the vaccinated children died.

Causes Cold-Like Symptoms

The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) said RSV is so common that most youngsters have been infected with it by their second birthday. It typically causes cold-like symptoms in healthy children and adults, but babies—particularly premature infants—the elderly and people with heart and lung disease or a weak immune system are at greater risk.

The RCPCH said RSV is responsible for around 33,000 hospital admissions of under-5s and between 20 and 30 deaths of young children every year in the UK.

According to the NHS, an average of 146 young children were in hospital with RSV each day at the peak of winter last year, up 11 percent on the previous year.

NHS England said in a statement: “The RSV virus is a main cause of winter pressures in children’s hospitals every year, leading to increased pressure on paediatric intensive care units.

“A recent study in the Lancet showed that the new programme could prevent 5,000 hospitalisations and 15,000 A&E attendances for infants—a critical, life-saving step forward to help front-line staff prepare for increased winter pressures.”

The NHS added that “modelling suggests” that the first season of the older adult’s catch-up programme could prevent around 2,500 hospital admissions, 15,000 GP visits and 60,000 RSV illnesses in adults for the over-75s.

Professor Dame Jenny Harries, chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), said that her organisation “has provided critical scientific information to evidence the benefits of a national RSV programme and so the rollout of the vaccine is a truly positive moment for the public’s health.”

Andrew Gwynne, minister for public health and prevention, said in a statement that his grandson caught RSV just days after he was born, which “led to weeks in intensive care and left him with long-lasting health issues.”

Urging anyone offered it to take up the offer of vaccination, Gynnw added: “RSV is preventable, and it is crucial that we take the necessary steps to protect ourselves and our loved ones. This new vaccine programme will reduce thousands of hospitalisations and save precious lives.”