Michelle Winokur, DrPH

RSV’s Global Toll

And just in time. RSV is a highly contagious virus that causes cold-like symptoms in millions of patients yearly. (9) Moreover, severe cases can lead to bronchiolitis, pneumonia, or death. (9)

Almost all children contract an RSV infection by age two. (10) Globally, more than 100,000 young children die from it every year. (11) It accounts for over 2 million doctor visits and 58,000 hospitalizations annually among children under five. (12) It is also the leading cause of hospitalization among children under one.

RSV is dangerous for older patients, too. It kills between 6,000 and 10,000 American seniors every year and hospitalizes ten times as many. (13)

The physical, financial, and emotional burdens RSV imposes on children, parents and families, and the elderly are enormous. (14, 15, 16, 17) These new immunizations represent a potential breakthrough.

Relieving Burdens

“The impact would be huge,” Dr. Janet Englund, a respiratory virus specialist at Seattle Children’s Hospital, told the Wall Street Jour-nal last year. (18) “It would change hospitalization rates. Young babies wouldn’t have to come to the hospital so much.”

RSV has been a focus of medical research and development for years. (19) The FDA’s expedited review of potential immunizations indicates that regulators know the situation’s urgency. If these immunizations are approved, they could dramatically reduce RSV infections in the United States and allow international health organizations to distribute the vaccine in the developing world, where RSV patients are at even greater risk. (20)

References:

1. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/rsv-is-spreading- what-we-know-about-this-common-and-surprisingly-dangerous-virus/
2. https://www.pfizer.com/news/press-release/press-release-detail/pfizer-granted-fda-breakthrough-therapy-designation
3. https://www.wsj.com/articles/rsv-vaccine-pfizer-infants- study-11667251540
4. https://www.yahoo.com/now/pfizer-announces-positive-top-line-103000293.html
5. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/12/07/rsv-fda-to-decide-on-pfizer-vaccine-for-older-adults-by-may-2023.html
6. https://www.astrazeneca.com/media-centre/press-releases/2022/beyfortus-approved-in-the-eu-for-the-prevention- of-rsv-lower-respiratory-tract-disease-in-infants.html
7. https://www.pmlive.com/pharma_news/gsks_application_for_its_rsv_vaccine_accepted_by_ema_under_accelerated_assessment_1480016
8. https://www.thepharmaletter.com/article/fda-follows-ema-in-accepting-pfizer-s-rsv-vaccine-filing
9. https://www.cdc.gov/rsv/about/transmission.html
10. https://www.cdc.gov/rsv/high-risk/infants-young-children.html
11. https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/974323
12. https://www.cdc.gov/rsv/research/index.html
13. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/01/health/rsv-vaccine-fda.html
14. https://healthpolicytoday.org/2019/06/13/infants-arent-the-only-ones-hurt-by-rsv/
15. https://healthpolicytoday.org/2022/03/31/alleviating-the-burden-of-rsv-for-infants-and-children/
16. https://healthpolicytoday.org/2022/06/15/respiratory-syncytial-virus-takes-a-toll-on-families/
17. https://www.cdc.gov/rsv/high-risk/older-adults.html
18. https://www.wsj.com/articles/pfizer-moderna-j-j-see-respiratory-virus-rsv-as-next-vaccine-target-11650015001
19. https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2022/10/10/rsv-vaccine/
20. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/01/health/rsv-children-vaccines.html