An RSV vaccine for babies has not yet been rolled out (Picture: Getty)
Government delays to a respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine programme will mean thousands of babies and infants need hospital treatment this winter – putting added pressure on the NHS.
Dr Camilla Kingdon, president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) told The Independent she is frustrated with the delay.
The virus, which affects both children and adults, causes 30,000 hospital admissions each winter and leads to dozens of deaths.
‘We’re frustrated [beacuse] if we had acted sooner, we might have at least reduced the extent of the impact this winter and we’ve missed an opportunity there,’ said Dr Kingdon.
‘One of the aspects of winter that always fills us with dread is that we know that we’ll end up having to stop elective surgical lists because our hospitals are at full capacity with all the infections that we see in winter.
‘You’ve got to get ahead of the game. We’re really disappointed that the programme hasn’t been rolled out in a way that is going to make an impact for this winter, because we’ve been talking about this endlessly, but there’s been a delay in activating the programme.’
RSV belongs to the same family of viruses that cause flu, mumps and measles. While RSV only causes a mild respiratory illness in most people, children under the age of 1 and the elderly are most at risk. In some cases RSV can lead to pneumonia or even death.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) said in June that RSV vaccines for babies and pregnant women would be ‘cost-effective’, but there is no timeframe for the programme to start.
Dr Camilla Kingdon: ‘You’ve got to get ahead of the game’ (Picture: RCPCH)
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson told The Independent: ‘The NHS already offers monoclonal antibodies which provide protection against RSV to infants at very high risk.
‘We are developing plans for delivering wider infant and adult RSV programmes in collaboration with UKHSA, NHS England and manufacturers. We will update in due course.’
In the absence of an RSV vaccine, Dr Kingdon urged parents to ensure their children received the flu jab, which will be available to UK secondary school pupils for the time this year.
Dr Kingdon also urged parents to check their children have received the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) jab. The UKHSA has warned of a rise in measles outbreaks this year, which could result in 100,000 cases if vaccination rates are not improved.
‘Measles is more infectious than Covid,’ said Dr Kingdon. ‘Please, please use the next six to eight weeks to get [children] a dose of MMR. Measles is not a trivial infection, and it can cause very serious complications and death.
‘If measles became a big problem, in addition to the other winter viruses, I think that would be really concerning.’
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https://metro.co.uk/2023/09/04/thousands-of-babies-at-risk-due-to-life-saving-rsv-vaccine-delay-19441944/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger
