August 22, 2023 – The long-awaited RSV vaccine, which may be given to pregnant women, was approved by the FDA on Monday.
The vaccine is known as Abrysvo and may be given between 32 and 36 weeks of pregnancy. It protects infants from birth to six months of age against the respiratory virus. Most children are infected with the highly contagious virus a minimum of once by the age of two. Very young children are at particular risk of great complications corresponding to pneumonia or bronchitis. Studies have shown that the brand new vaccine reduced this risk by as much as 82%.
Before the vaccine was available, based on the CDC. Treatments, the CDC says, may include “oxygen, intravenous fluids (if patients are not eating and drinking), and mechanical ventilation (a machine that helps with breathing). Most people improve with this type of supportive care and are discharged after a few days.”
RSV often causes cold-like symptoms, however the virus carries the danger of great complications that may result in death in young children and the elderly. The CDC Estimates Each 12 months, 100 to 300 deaths in children under five years of age and 6,000 to 10,000 deaths in people aged 65 and over are attributed to RSV.
Earlier this 12 months, the FDA approved Pfizer's Abrysvo vaccine to be used in older adults. This can be the primary 12 months that an antibody shot has been available that may be given after birth to forestall severe RSV disease in infants under one 12 months of age.
“We are incredibly grateful to clinical trial participants and study research teams around the world, as well as our Pfizer colleagues, for their commitment to making this vaccine available,” said Dr. Annaliesa Anderson, Pfizer’s Chief Scientific Officer, in a opinion“Today, a long-sought goal has been achieved: to provide a vaccine for mothers that protects infants aged six months or younger – when they are most at risk of potentially serious consequences from RSV infection.”
In his agreement noticeThe FDA found that 1.8% of pregnant women who received Abrysvo experienced a dangerous hypertension condition called preeclampsia, which might occur while pregnant, compared with 1.4% of those that received a placebo. The FDA also reported that low birth weight and jaundice in infants were more common among the many pregnant women who received Abrysvo compared with the placebo group.
Studies also showed that pregnant women who received the vaccine had a 5.7% rate of preterm birth, compared with a 4.7% rate for ladies who received a placebo. The FDA called the difference a “numerical imbalance” but said within the approval notice that no “causal relationship” might be established, noting that girls who were already at high risk for preterm birth were excluded from clinical trials. Pfizer must conduct ongoing studies to observe the danger of preeclampsia in addition to preterm birth, the FDA said.