The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday approved the first vaccination to save newborns from Respiratory Syncytial Virus
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday approved the first vaccine that protects newborns from Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), reported ANI citing CNN.
During the trial of the vaccine on more than 7,000 pregnant people and their infants, it was found that it cut the risk that infants needed to see a doctor. It also reduced the cases of hospitalisation among infants.
About Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV)
People suffering from this illness are affected with infections of the lungs and respiratory tract. It is highly commong among children and elderly. It also leads to large number of hospitalisation. It typically hits hardest during the winter months. The last RSV season was longer and more severe than usual, overwhelming children’s hospitals.
Director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Peter Marks in a statement said: “RSV is a common cause of illness in children, and infants are among those at highest risk for severe disease, which can lead to hospitalization.”
“This approval provides an option for healthcare providers and pregnant individuals to protect infants from this potentially life-threatening disease,” he added as per CNN.
According to the CNN report, there are many vaccines to protect people from RSV. The recently approved antibody shot can protec infants after birth from the illness. There are new vaccine also available for people 60 and older.
Pfizer’s senior vice president and chief scientific officer for vaccine research and development Annaliesa Anderson said in a statement: “ABRYSVO’s approval as the first and only maternal immunization to help protect newborns immediately at birth through six months from RSV marks a significant milestone for the scientific community and for public health.”
Pfizer has said that maternal vaccination could prevent up to 16,000 hospitalizations and more than 300,000 visits to the doctor due to RSV each year if the vaccine were universally applied.
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