Vaccine against winter cough virus ‘can slash hospitalisations in kids by more than 80%’

Research has shown that a vaccine against a common childhood virus can reduce hospitalizations by more than 80 percent.

Antibody injection trials suggest thousands of babies could be spared trips to the emergency room each year with breathing difficulties caused by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

Nirsevimab has already received approval from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and could be part of a vaccination campaign against RSV starting next winter.

Experts suggest its implementation would ease winter pressures on the NHS, with the virus responsible for around 33,000 annual hospitalizations of children under five.

The vaccine was given to 8,058 babies up to one year old in the United Kingdom, France and Germany who were in or approaching their first RSV season, which normally begins in October.

Hospitalizations for RSV-associated lower respiratory tract infections were 83 percent lower among those vaccinated, 0.3 percent (11) compared to 1.5 percent (60) among unvaccinated .

Very serious infections occurred in 0.1 percent (5) of the nirsevimab group compared with 0.5 percent (19) of those receiving standard care, the latest trials showed.

The findings, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, are likely to strengthen their case for their use in the rollout of RSV vaccines next year.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization (JCVI) recommended in the summer that a cost-effective RSV vaccination program should be developed for both infants and older adults.

RSV is a seasonal illness like the flu and most children get it by the time they are two years old.

RSV, which is usually mild and causes cold-like symptoms, can cause more serious lung problems, such as bronchiolitis and pneumonia.

It is responsible for between 20 and 30 child deaths in the UK each year, and thousands more are hospitalized for respiratory and feeding problems.

Manufactured by Sanofi and AstraZeneca, nirsevimab is one of the options being considered in the program that will begin next winter.

If given the go-ahead, it is believed it will be given to babies once in a single dose.

Said Professor Saul Faust, co-leader of the study at the University of Southampton; ‘These latest results show that this long-acting antibody is safe and could protect thousands of babies from hospitalization if used under conditions similar to those in routine clinical practice.

“This is really important information for the UK to help decide options for the future national RSV vaccination programme.”

Adverse events were predominantly minor and similar in both groups.

Data from the trial has already been used to roll out the vaccine in the United States and Spain this winter.

Dr Simon Drysdale, co-leader of the study and consultant pediatrician at St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, said: “RSV is a highly contagious infection and every year our wards are full of babies with breathing and feeding problems.”

‘The thousands of winter hospital admissions are very distressing for families and cause a huge winter burden on the NHS. This groundbreaking study shows the potential NHS impact and safety of a monoclonal antibody injection.’