Vaccine approved to protect older people from RSV

After decades of testing and tweaking, researchers have developed—and the FDA has approved—a vaccine to protect older people from the sometimes-deadly RSV. Who should get it?

RSV stands for respiratory syncytial virus. It mimics the common cold but can turn into pneumonia. Infectious disease experts say babies, older people and anyone with a compromised immune system is at risk. Now, for the first time, a vaccine has been approved for adults 60 and older.

“A vaccine has been six decades in the making, and it was pretty groundbreaking,” said Dr. Shalika Katugaha, an infectious disease expert at Baptist Health in Jacksonville.

Katugaha explained how the spread of RSV can threaten older people.

“RSV is transmitted when someone coughs or sneezes,” Katugaha said. “And then another common way that people do get it, especially these older adults, is direct contact with the virus, which actually means kissing their grandchild and getting it from them exactly that way.”

Severe cases can be deadly for adults and infants alike.

“It’s, in fact, responsible for around 10,000 deaths in people over 60 and in 60,000 to 160,000 hospitalizations in this age group,” Katugaha said.

To date, two vaccines have FDA approval. The first was made by GSK; its brand name is Arexvy. The second was created by Pfizer.

In clinical trials, the new RSV vaccine showed that the once-a-year shot lowered the risk of symptoms by 83% and severe illness by 94%. How safe is it?

“They are not live shots, and so they should be fine for anyone over 60 to get,” Katugaha said.

But with many older adults already on their fifth or sixth COVID-19 vaccine and booster, combined with the flu and shingles vaccines, is that too many vaccines for our body to handle?

“Your body does not get ‘too many vaccines,'” Katugaha said. “In fact, vaccines are our strength and our armor; they’re what protect us.”

The goal is to have the vaccine available by fall, in time for the next RSV season, which usually peaks between December and February. Doctors warn there is no treatment for RSV, so prevention is key.

The vaccine has not yet been approved for children or infants. But researchers hope getting it to the older population first will pave the way for clinical trials for infants and children. The vaccine will be similar to the flu vaccine, and it appears to last one year.