The Department of Health will include childhood immunizations this fall against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which causes bronchiolitis in infants under six months old. Will start in October. Minimal bronchiolitis leading to hospital admission is often caused by complications of the virus and seriously affects one in fifty-six healthy non-premature babies.
Castilla y León will therefore, starting in the fall, treat 13,000 children under 13 months (about 2,100 in the province of Burgos born between March 1, 2023 and 2024) after immunoprophylaxis combined with the drug nirsevimab Children between March 31) were immunized against RSV by administering a single dose of the monoclonal antibodies described above. A virus killed at least one newborn in the region last year as it left a “significant” aftermath, with more likely to die and the outbreak putting “stress” on healthcare “.
The merger also means a change in the name of the current program, from “vaccination” to “immunization program for a lifetime”, whose drugs have good safety and efficacy and have a long half-life, so they provide at least five doses after administration. months of protection. Currently, ten autonomous regions have decided to include it in the vaccination calendar, which for Castile and León means an annual expenditure of 2.8 million euros.
Introducing the new childhood immunization program, Health Secretary Alejandro Vazquez noted that RSV causes a common viral illness that usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms. Of course, he stresses, it can cause serious infections of the lower respiratory tract and lungs, especially bronchiolitis and pneumonia, especially in infants, but can also cause it in older people and people with chronic diseases. “It is a very common disease, seasonal, affecting a large number of children, some of whom may be admitted to hospital with serious illness, or even die,” he added. According to Ical agency, Vazquez believes that this Immunization will be given in hospital after the baby is born and is a very important measure to improve people’s quality of life, in line with the measures taken by the Ministry of Health. These include the shingles vaccine for people over 65, the human papillomavirus vaccine for children, and the vaccine against rotavirus, which are not included in the national calendar.
RSV can affect people of all ages and is so common in young children that more than 90% of children are infected by the age of two, resulting in a high disease burden in childhood and an overburden of care in primary care as well as viral Hospitals during transmission season, as happened last winter.
The greatest burden was concentrated in children under six months of age, and RSV infection generally occurred in autumn or winter, so this seasonality meant that children born during this period had the highest rates of hospitalization.
Currently, there is a new drug that provides passive immunity against RSV. nirsevimab is a monoclonal antibody (a laboratory-produced molecule intended as a surrogate that can alter or mimic an immune system attack) indicated for the prevention of RSV lower respiratory disease in children under 12 months of age. first season. It has a good safety and efficacy profile and a long half-life, so it provides protection for at least five months after administration.
Public Health Director Sonia Tamames explained that passive immunization will be based on date of birth. This way, people born after October 1 can receive the monoclonal antibody at the hospital at birth; those born between March and September of this year will have a specific event at the start of the RSV season (expected in October) , to give the vaccine at a health center or at the usual vaccination center.
In addition, nirsevimab will be used in a population of infants at high risk of severe RSV disease, including premature infants younger than 35 weeks, congenital heart disease with hypoxic blood, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, and patients with other baseline pathologies Those at high risk for severe bronchiolitis, whether due to severe immunosuppression, inborn errors of metabolism, severe neuromuscular or pulmonary disease, genetic syndromes with associated respiratory problems, Down syndrome, cystic fibrosis and patients receiving palliative care.
Tames reiterated that the goal is to improve the lives of the families as they seek to avoid the worst cases of bronchiolitis, such as hospitalization and possible sequelae.