Pregnant women urged to get RSV vaccine

Claire and Thomas

An adult nurse at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has told of the terrifying experience when her baby son was hospitalised due to RSV and is urging pregnant women to get the vaccine, which will be available next month.

Claire Harding's son, Thomas, became unwell last Christmas when he was just 20 months old. He had respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a major respiratory virus that is common over the winter period.

Claire said: "He had been under the weather for a few days – high temperature, a bit chesty, off his food, not his usual self. The GP said to take him to the Emergency Department if he deteriorates. One morning I could see what is known as abdominal tugging where his tummy was contracting inwards as he breathed so we took him to the Emergency Department and he was seen straight away.

"It was awful and very stressful. It was really difficult to get a toddler to wear a nebuliser. I wouldn't wish it on any parent. As the RSV virus progressed his oxygen levels would be ok in the day but would keep dropping at night and we had some very stressful nights in the hospital while they tried to stabilise him."

Thomas remained in hospital for five days and since then has to use a reliever inhaler every time he gets a cold. 

The UK Health Security Agency and Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) are highlighting the benefits that the new RSV vaccination programme is expected to bring following its introduction from September.

Despite infecting around 90% of children within the first two years of life, RSV is not something that many people are aware of. It typically causes mild, cold-like symptoms. However, it can lead to severe lung infections like pneumonia and infant bronchiolitis and is a leading cause of infant mortality globally.

Claire, now 33 weeks pregnant with her second child, has already signed up for the vaccine.

She said: "I am so lucky that the timing has worked out that I can have the vaccine before I give birth again. There is no way I want to go through RSV again and I know it could be even more dangerous for a younger child. I would advise any pregnant woman who is eligible to have the vaccine. It could save your child and your family from a very stressful experience if your child catches the virus at a young age."

RSV illness is the main cause of winter pressures in children's hospitals each year leading to pressure on paediatric intensive care units, including cancelled operations. It accounts for approximately 20,000 hospitalisations in children under one year-of-age and is responsible for 20 to 30 infant deaths a year in the UK.

A recent study estimated that the new programme launching in England this autumn could typically prevent 5,000 hospitalisations and 15,000 Emergency Department attendances for infants.

The study bases its estimates on the assumption that uptake among pregnant women will be around 60%. It also estimated that the maternal programme could mean 70,000 fewer RSV illnesses in infants under 12 months, 20,000 fewer GP consultations and avoid more than 200 infants being admitted to intensive care units.

Professor Dame Jenny Harries, Chief Executive of the UK Health Security Agency, said: "Having the vaccine during every pregnancy is the best way to protect your baby against RSV, as the vaccine boosts your immune system to produce more antibodies against the virus, and these then pass through the placenta to help protect your baby from the day they are born. The vaccine reduces the risk of severe bronchiolitis by 70% in the first six months of life.

"The RSV vaccine is the safest way to protect you and your baby. It has been approved by medicines regulators in the UK, Europe and the USA. Many thousands of women have had the vaccine in other countries, including more than 100,000 women in the USA."

The RSV vaccine will be offered throughout the year. Pregnant women should be offered it around the time of the 28 week antenatal appointment - if you haven't heard by this stage, contact your maternity service or GP practice to make an appointment.