RSV: Winter virus jab rolled out for babies and elderly

Paediatrician Yasmin Baki, who works at UCLH in London, said they see 500 patients each winter with RSV.

“It’s potentially life-threatening, particularly for very young, vulnerable babies who may have other conditions, like cardiac conditions, or may be premature. Those babies tend to get very sick.”

She urged pregnant women to get vaccinated and said the vaccine could be a game-changer this winter.

“It could change what we see at the front door of A&E here, in terms of vulnerable young babies.”

NHS England says research from the thousands of pregnant women worldwide who have been vaccinated against RSV shows that the jab reduces the risk of severe lung infection by about 70% for their babies in the first six months of life.

A recent study in the Lancet suggested the vaccination programme could prevent 5,000 hospitalisations and 15,000 A&E attendances for infants, and 2,500 hospital admissions for older people this winter, which NHS England said could also reduce pressures for front-line staff.

The vaccine is called abrysvo and is made by Pfizer.