WHO Issues Recommendations on Vaccines to Protect Infants Against RSV

The WHO has published its first position paper on “immunization products to protect infants against [RSV] – the leading cause of acute lower respiratory infections in children globally.”

Each year, RSV causes about 100,000 deaths “and over 3.6 million hospitalizations in children under the age of 5 worldwide. About half of these deaths occur in infants younger than 6 months of age. The vast majority (97%) of RSV deaths in infants occur in low- and middle-income countries where there is limited access to supportive medical care, such as oxygen or hydration.”

The position paper “outlines WHO recommendations for two immunization products: a maternal vaccine that can be given to pregnant women in their third trimester to protect their infant and a long-acting monoclonal antibody that can be administered to infants from birth, just before or during the RSV season.”

WHO recommends that a maternal vaccine, RSVpreF, be “given to pregnant women during the third trimester of pregnancy, from week 28 onwards, to optimize for the adequate transfer of antibodies to their baby. The vaccine may be given during routine antenatal care, including at one of the 5 WHO-recommended antenatal care visits in the third trimester or any additional medical consultations.” Then, another immunization, nirsevimab, “is given as a single injection of monoclonal antibodies that starts protecting babies against RSV within a week of administration and lasts for at least 5 months, which can cover the entire RSV season in countries with RSV seasonality.” They also recommend nirsevimab be administered “right after birth or before being discharged from a birthing facility.”