2024-01-30 14:02:46
The Ministry of Health gives the green light to the first and only vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) for the protection of infants – through the immunization of pregnant women – and those over 60 years of age.
Pregnant women can now protect their babies up to 6 months from bronchiolitis and other respiratory diseases by getting vaccinated, between 24 and 36 weeks of gestation, with the first vaccine for adults that has just been approved by the Ministry of Health against Respiratory Syncytial Virus. (VRS).
Pfizer’s bivalent vaccine against protein F in prefusion (RSVpreF) is also indicated for those over 60 years of age, but for now the National Health System will only finance it for pregnant women, the medical director explained at the presentation of the drug. of the company, José Chaves.
Pending the guidelines that the Public Health Commission must still set, which must now decide its incorporation into the lifelong vaccination schedule, Abrysvo, the commercial name of the vaccine, consists of a single dose that is injected into the muscle. of the upper part of the arm and is now available in pharmacies for a price of 234.95 euros with VAT.
Vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus, “complementary” to nirsevimab
Since October, newborns have been immunized with nirsevimab, a monoclonal antibody – not a vaccine – that is plummeting hospitalization rates due to RSV, which is the second cause of death in infants under 12 months of age in the world.
It is estimated that in Spain, infections due to this virus cause between 7,000 and 14,000 hospitalizations annually, that is, 2% of the cases, without forgetting that syncytial can lead to future consequences, leading to symptoms similar to those of asthma in the First 5 years of life.
This vaccine, the first to arrive in Spain for adults and the only one that is indicated for pregnant women – the other one developed by GSK is only for older people – is a new tool with which they will receive passive protection through the placenta. your mothers.
According to María Garcés, pediatrician at the Nazaret health center (Valencia) and member of the Vaccine Advisory Committee of the Spanish Association of Pediatrics (CAV-AEP), there is “no interference” between both drugs, which “may even be complementary.”
Respiratory syncytial virus vaccine: A vital shield for babies
“Until a few years ago, vaccinating a pregnant woman was a taboo subject, but thanks to scientific evidence, advances and the industry, the importance of getting vaccinated has been seen, first so that they protect themselves from various diseases, and then the fetus,” said Inmaculada Cuesta, nurse, midwife and secretary of the National Nursing and Immunization Association (Anenvac).
When a woman is vaccinated, she generates antibodies that she transfers to the fetus through the placenta. “It is an altruistic act that the woman does for the benefit of her child,” to whom she gives “a vital shield” against RSV in the first six months of her life.
Since the protection of the infant against RSV depends on this transfer of antibodies, Abrysvo should be administered between weeks 24 and 36 of pregnancy; The important thing, the expert wanted to make clear, is that women of fertile age reach pregnancy with their complete vaccination schedule, even more so if they are women with some risk factor.
VRS is also something for adults
But RSV is not exclusive to children, clarified Ángel Gil, professor of Preventive Medicine and Public Health at the Rey Juan Carlos University in Madrid, but it also impacts adults over the age of 65, for whom there is a underdiagnosis despite the fact that in them there is more in-hospital mortality related to cases of this virus -8%- than with the flu.
90% of the population of this age has an associated chronic disease, which becomes two at 75 and at least 3 when they turn 80, so their protection against any respiratory disease “is essential.”
Gil has insisted that the vaccine will not prevent infection, but it will prevent hospitalizations and deaths, as occurs with others such as covid or the flu.
It can be caused by the flu
According to its package insert, Abrysvo can be given in parallel with the seasonal flu vaccine. Like any medication, it has adverse effects, the most common in pregnant women being pain in the area of the puncture, headache, muscle pain, and nausea.
While in the elderly, the most frequent were fatigue, headache, pain in the injection area and myalgia.
With these two indications already approved, the pharmaceutical company has initiated two additional clinical trials to evaluate Abrysvo in children at increased risk of contracting RSV disease, ranging in age from 2 years to 18.
The second trial is evaluating adults ages 18 to 60, who are at increased risk for RSV due to underlying medical conditions such as asthma, diabetes, and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), as well as adults ages 18 and older who are immunosuppressed and, therefore, are at greater risk of contracting RSV, concluded José Chaves, medical director of Pfizer.
From left to right: Inmaculada Cuesta, nurse, midwife and secretary of the National Association of Nursing and Vaccines (ANENVAC); Ángel Gil, professor of Preventive Medicine and Public Health at the Rey Juan Carlos University of Madrid; Dr. María Garcés Sánchez, pediatrician and member of the Vaccine Advisory Committee of the Spanish Association of Pediatrics (CAV-AEP); Maite Hernández, director of communications at Pfizer and Francisco Mesa, medical director of Primary Care and Hospitals at Pfizer/Courted photo
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