Begin respiratory syncytial virus vaccination for infants and newborns

Vaccination

The Ministry of Health estimates that 14,000 vaccine doses will be administered in the first round of the campaign against RSV and has allocated €3.2 million.

Juan Carlos Chinchilla

3 minutes ago

This Sunday, October 1, a preventive campaign against Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) begins in hospitals in Castile-La Mancha with the vaccination of newborns against the bronchiolitis that this virus can cause , pneumonia or bronchitis.

Most infants infected with respiratory syncytial virus will have mild symptoms such as nasal congestion, cough, and fever without involvement of the bronchi or lungs. However, sometimes this virus can also cause lower respiratory tract problems (such as bronchiolitis, bronchitis, and pneumonia), which can be serious.

The campaign has today been expanded to all health centers and clinics in the autonomous region, and has actively begun to call the target children for vaccination. Immunization was performed using the monoclonal antibody Nirsevimab.

As explained by Francisco José García, health representative of the province of Ciudad Real, the target population to receive this antibody is divided into three groups. The first group consists of boys and girls born between October 1, 2023 and March 31, 2024, who will be vaccinated in the hospital before being discharged.

The remaining groups will be vaccinated at their health centers or offices: they are boys and girls under 6 months of age at the start of the campaign (born between April 1 and September 30, 2023). Premature birth of less than 35 weeks of gestation in the first year of life (born between October 1, 2022 and March 31, 2023). and children under 2 years old (born between October 1, 2021, and March 31, 2023) with certain high-risk medical conditions.

As Garcia detailed, RSV is the leading cause of lower respiratory tract infections in children under one year old, causing conditions such as bronchiolitis, with one in 50 cases requiring hospitalization. Bronchiolitis is an inflammation of the thinner branches of the bronchi, causing blockage and difficulty breathing in babies.

The Ministry of Health estimates that 14,000 vaccine doses will be administered in the first round of the campaign against RSV and has allocated €3.2 million. “This is yet another example of local government’s commitment to prevention, with investment in vaccines increasing from $5 million in 2015 to $30 million in 2023,” Garcia concluded.