Wednesday 2 November 2022 09:49 PM Pfizer's new RSV vaccine given to pregnant women to protect their babies shows ... trends now
Pfizer has announced its experimental RSV vaccine is highly effective — giving a glimmer of hope for parents and doctors.
The pharmaceutical giant announced its shot can reduce the risk of hospitalization among infants up to six months of age infected with the seasonal virus.
If approved, it would be the first vaccine for RSV, which kills between 100 and 500 children under five and hospitalizes about 58,000 each year.
That could prove a lifeline for hospitals which are currently overwhelmed with unseasonably high cases of the virus - which has been blamed on lockdowns suppressing children's immunity.
The vaccine is administered to pregnant women during the late second to third trimester of their pregnancy. Vaccination during pregnancy allows the antibodies to travel into the placenta, conferring protection to the fetus.
Pfizer's trial included 7,400 pregnant women in 18 countries who either received a dose of the experimental vaccine or a placebo.
Pfizer expects to finalize its petition for approval from the Food and Drug Administration by the end of 2022, potentially setting up a federal go-ahead before the next respiratory infection season kicks off.
The above graph shows the number of positive tests for RSV viruses by date in the United States. It reveals they have now reached their highest levels since 2020, before the pandemic began. Data is from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The immune power of the vaccine when administered to moms-to-be is conferred to babies in utero, which provides them with crucial protection from the virus in their first 90 days of life.
Administering the vaccine to expectant mothers was shown to be nearly 82 per cent effective at preventing severe illness caused by RSV in infants during their first 90 days of life.
At six months, the vaccine was still 69 per cent effective.
Cases were considered ‘severe’ if the babies infected were breathing very rapidly, over 70 breaths per minute.
RSV cases were also considered severe if the patient's blood oxygen levels fell below 93 per cent, if they required high-flow supplemental oxygen, if they were admitted to the ICU, or if they lost consciousness.
Severe infections may cause pneumonia and bronchiolitis, an inflammation of the small airways in the lung.
Worldwide, RSV kills about 100,000
