Respiratory Syncytial Virus

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Context: USFDA gives nod to the first vaccine named ABRYSVO to protect newborns from Respiratory Syncytial Virus.

Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) vaccine

• The new vaccine is made by Pfizers.
• It is given to mothers late in their pregnancies.
• It protects infants through their first six months of life.

About Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV)

• Also called human respiratory syncytial virus and human metapneumovirus, it is a common, contagious virus that causes infections of the respiratory tract.
• It is a negative-sense, single-stranded RNA virus.
• RSV is a common cause of illness in children, and infants are among those at highest risk for severe disease.
• It also leads to a large number of hospitalisations.
• It typically hits hardest during the winter months.
• The last RSV season was longer and more severe than usual, overwhelming children’s hospitals.

Importance of the RSV vaccine’s approval

• This approval provides an option for healthcare providers and pregnant individuals to protect infants from this potentially life-threatening disease.
• There are many vaccines to protect people from RSV. There are new vaccines also available for people 60 and older.
• However, the recently approved antibody shot can protect infants after birth from the illness.
• ABRYSVO’s approval is the first and only maternal immunization to help protect newborns immediately at birth through six months.
• Pfizer has said that maternal vaccination could prevent up to 16,000 hospitalizations and more than 300,000 visits to the doctor due to RSV each year.

https://www.livemint.com/science/health/usfda-gives-nod-to-first-vaccine-to-protect-newborns-from-respiratory-syncytial-virus-11692671178258.html