Lori Handy, MD, MSCE, is the Associate Director of CHOP’s Vaccine Education Center and an attending physician in the Division of Infectious Diseases.
We are entering the 2024-25 respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) season with 2 tools to protect newborn babies and high-risk infants. RSV is a respiratory viral infection that is the leading cause of hospitalization for young infants, though hospitalization can now be widely prevented.
Families this fall will be choosing between 2 options for prevention: providing an immunization directly to the baby in the form of a monoclonal antibody after birth (nirsevimab) or administering a vaccine given during pregnancy for the purpose of passing maternal antibodies to the baby before birth (maternal vaccine).
These 2 tools were first introduced in 2023 and have continued to be studied to ensure they are safe and effective. These additional studies enable us to learn about how immunizations work in the real world and detect any rare safety concerns that were not detected in the original studies. With one RSV season using these tools under our collective belt, we have learned valuable information to help families make decisions for how to best protect their children.
Do These Immunizations Keep Babies Out of the Hospital?
An important question asked about nirsevimab by families is: How effectively does nirsevimab reduce hospitalizations for RSV in the real world? The exciting news is the immunization worked just as well in the real world as it did in clinical trials. Studies published both in the United States and Europe have showed that about 80% to 90% of hospitalizations can now be prevented by nirsevimab. The additional good news is that even with infants receiving this immunization early in life, children still have natural exposure to the virus and build up their own longer-term protection so they don’t have severe disease during their second RSV season.
A question often asked about the maternal vaccine is: Are there any safety concerns? As with all vaccines, the maternal vaccine was carefully monitored for safety after being licensed. Clinical trials had raised concern the vaccine could lead to premature birth. Because of this, the vaccine was approved for use only during the period of 32 through 36 weeks of gestation while additional studies were conducted. Data from the first season of this vaccine is reassuring: Preterm births did not occur more frequently in the vaccinated group compared to the unvaccinated.
Robust Supply of Both Products
Finally, families are eager to know how they can access either of these options. There will be the robust supply of both maternal vaccine and nirsevimab. The Vaccines for Children (VFC) program, Medicaid, and most private insurers will cover these products. Maternal vaccines can be accessed at primary care providers, obstetricians, retail pharmacies, and some health centers while the infant monoclonal antibody can be accessed at some, but not all, birthing hospitals as well as from primary care providers and at some health centers. Families should talk with their healthcare providers to determine which is accessible to them and find out if they have any personal health reasons to choose one over the other.
Healthcare providers and parents can be optimistic that with the use of both immunizations, we will begin to see measurable impacts of these new tools as we protect the most vulnerable among us.
To review fuller study results, check out www.chop.edu/RSVresearch.
Lori Handy, MD, MSCE, is the Associate Director of CHOP’s Vaccine Education Center and an attending physician in the Division of Infectious Diseases.
We are entering the 2024-25 respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) season with 2 tools to protect newborn babies and high-risk infants. RSV is a respiratory viral infection that is the leading cause of hospitalization for young infants, though hospitalization can now be widely prevented.
Families this fall will be choosing between 2 options for prevention: providing an immunization directly to the baby in the form of a monoclonal antibody after birth (nirsevimab) or administering a vaccine given during pregnancy for the purpose of passing maternal antibodies to the baby before birth (maternal vaccine).
These 2 tools were first introduced in 2023 and have continued to be studied to ensure they are safe and effective. These additional studies enable us to learn about how immunizations work in the real world and detect any rare safety concerns that were not detected in the original studies. With one RSV season using these tools under our collective belt, we have learned valuable information to help families make decisions for how to best protect their children.
Do These Immunizations Keep Babies Out of the Hospital?
An important question asked about nirsevimab by families is: How effectively does nirsevimab reduce hospitalizations for RSV in the real world? The exciting news is the immunization worked just as well in the real world as it did in clinical trials. Studies published both in the United States and Europe have showed that about 80% to 90% of hospitalizations can now be prevented by nirsevimab. The additional good news is that even with infants receiving this immunization early in life, children still have natural exposure to the virus and build up their own longer-term protection so they don’t have severe disease during their second RSV season.
A question often asked about the maternal vaccine is: Are there any safety concerns? As with all vaccines, the maternal vaccine was carefully monitored for safety after being licensed. Clinical trials had raised concern the vaccine could lead to premature birth. Because of this, the vaccine was approved for use only during the period of 32 through 36 weeks of gestation while additional studies were conducted. Data from the first season of this vaccine is reassuring: Preterm births did not occur more frequently in the vaccinated group compared to the unvaccinated.
Robust Supply of Both Products
Finally, families are eager to know how they can access either of these options. There will be the robust supply of both maternal vaccine and nirsevimab. The Vaccines for Children (VFC) program, Medicaid, and most private insurers will cover these products. Maternal vaccines can be accessed at primary care providers, obstetricians, retail pharmacies, and some health centers while the infant monoclonal antibody can be accessed at some, but not all, birthing hospitals as well as from primary care providers and at some health centers. Families should talk with their healthcare providers to determine which is accessible to them and find out if they have any personal health reasons to choose one over the other.
Healthcare providers and parents can be optimistic that with the use of both immunizations, we will begin to see measurable impacts of these new tools as we protect the most vulnerable among us.
To review fuller study results, check out www.chop.edu/RSVresearch.