Lethe200
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What you need to know about this year’s new RSV vaccine recommendations
SF Chronicle Oct 5, 2024
(Note: edited for clarity and length by Lethe200)
If you were confused about the RSV vaccine last year, you weren’t alone. It was the first year that shots became available to protect against respiratory syncytial virus, which lands tens of thousands of young children and older adults in the hospital each winter.
The confusion and unexpectedly limited supply, paired with vaccine fatigue that many people experienced in the wake of COVID, may have contributed to relatively low uptake of the new vaccines.
Infectious disease doctors hope there will be higher uptake in both older adults and pregnant people this year now that the recommendations on who should get it are clearer, and some of the supply hiccups from last year have been resolved. Here’s what they want the public to know about the RSV shots.
Who should not get it
None of the RSV vaccines are recommended for adults under 60 who are not pregnant.
If you got an RSV shot last year you don’t need to get one this year. Clinical trials for the RSV vaccines showed that protection lasts between 18-23 months. “The protection for the second year should be good,” Silvers said.
If you were pregnant this time last year and got the vaccine then, and are currently pregnant again, you should not get a second dose of the prenatal vaccine, Silvers said. Rather, your baby can receive the monoclonal antibody nirsevimab at birth. This is because there is not yet enough data to show whether a repeat prenatal vaccine is beneficial.
What is new this year?
Recommendations for which older adults should get vaccinated have also been tweaked since last year. There is one additional vaccine available this year, the Moderna mRNA vaccine called mResvia, which got FDA approval in May. It is approved for people 60 and older.
Older adults
The CDC recommends that people 75 and older get vaccinated with any one of the three approved antivirals, as this demographic is more likely to get severely ill with RSV infection.
People 60 to 74 years old also should get vaccinated if they have underlying conditions that make them more vulnerable to severe RSV, such as chronic heart disease or chronic lung disease, according to the CDC. People who live in nursing homes should also get vaccinated. This is a change from last year, when the CDC issued a somewhat vague guidance saying people 60 and older should engage in “shared decision-making” with their doctor before deciding whether to get immunized.
Older adults can get any of the three RSV vaccines: Abrysvo (made by Pfizer), Arexvy (made by GSK), or the new mRNA vaccine mResvia (made by Moderna).
Pregnant people
Pregnant people who are between 32 and 36 weeks gestation are urged to get vaccinated in order to pass protection onto their baby through the placenta. This group can only get the Abrysvo vaccine because that is the only one the FDA approved for pregnant people.
Kaiser Northern California locations vaccinated about 7,000 pregnant patients with the new vaccine during last year’s respiratory virus season. The number of babies hospitalized with RSV plummeted compared to the previous year, from 300 in 2022 to 100 in 2023, Semere said.
Infants younger than 8 months old
The CDC recommends that babies 8 months or younger who are born during their first RSV season (fall through spring) — and whose mother did not get vaccinated during pregnancy — get nirsevimab. It is not technically a vaccine but essentially has the same function. It is a monoclonal antibody shot that gives the baby what’s known as “passive immunity,” which means rather than prompting the body to produce its own antibodies the way a vaccine does, it delivers antibodies directly.
Slightly older children, 8 to 19 months who are entering their second RSV season, should also get it if they’re severely immunocompromised or have chronic lung disease, the CDC said.
SF Chronicle Oct 5, 2024
(Note: edited for clarity and length by Lethe200)
If you were confused about the RSV vaccine last year, you weren’t alone. It was the first year that shots became available to protect against respiratory syncytial virus, which lands tens of thousands of young children and older adults in the hospital each winter.
The confusion and unexpectedly limited supply, paired with vaccine fatigue that many people experienced in the wake of COVID, may have contributed to relatively low uptake of the new vaccines.
Infectious disease doctors hope there will be higher uptake in both older adults and pregnant people this year now that the recommendations on who should get it are clearer, and some of the supply hiccups from last year have been resolved. Here’s what they want the public to know about the RSV shots.
Who should not get it
None of the RSV vaccines are recommended for adults under 60 who are not pregnant.
If you got an RSV shot last year you don’t need to get one this year. Clinical trials for the RSV vaccines showed that protection lasts between 18-23 months. “The protection for the second year should be good,” Silvers said.
If you were pregnant this time last year and got the vaccine then, and are currently pregnant again, you should not get a second dose of the prenatal vaccine, Silvers said. Rather, your baby can receive the monoclonal antibody nirsevimab at birth. This is because there is not yet enough data to show whether a repeat prenatal vaccine is beneficial.
What is new this year?
Recommendations for which older adults should get vaccinated have also been tweaked since last year. There is one additional vaccine available this year, the Moderna mRNA vaccine called mResvia, which got FDA approval in May. It is approved for people 60 and older.
Older adults
The CDC recommends that people 75 and older get vaccinated with any one of the three approved antivirals, as this demographic is more likely to get severely ill with RSV infection.
People 60 to 74 years old also should get vaccinated if they have underlying conditions that make them more vulnerable to severe RSV, such as chronic heart disease or chronic lung disease, according to the CDC. People who live in nursing homes should also get vaccinated. This is a change from last year, when the CDC issued a somewhat vague guidance saying people 60 and older should engage in “shared decision-making” with their doctor before deciding whether to get immunized.
Older adults can get any of the three RSV vaccines: Abrysvo (made by Pfizer), Arexvy (made by GSK), or the new mRNA vaccine mResvia (made by Moderna).
Pregnant people
Pregnant people who are between 32 and 36 weeks gestation are urged to get vaccinated in order to pass protection onto their baby through the placenta. This group can only get the Abrysvo vaccine because that is the only one the FDA approved for pregnant people.
Kaiser Northern California locations vaccinated about 7,000 pregnant patients with the new vaccine during last year’s respiratory virus season. The number of babies hospitalized with RSV plummeted compared to the previous year, from 300 in 2022 to 100 in 2023, Semere said.
Infants younger than 8 months old
The CDC recommends that babies 8 months or younger who are born during their first RSV season (fall through spring) — and whose mother did not get vaccinated during pregnancy — get nirsevimab. It is not technically a vaccine but essentially has the same function. It is a monoclonal antibody shot that gives the baby what’s known as “passive immunity,” which means rather than prompting the body to produce its own antibodies the way a vaccine does, it delivers antibodies directly.
Slightly older children, 8 to 19 months who are entering their second RSV season, should also get it if they’re severely immunocompromised or have chronic lung disease, the CDC said.
