The first campaign to vaccinate children up to six months old against the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which causes bronchiolitis, has been a success, according to health authorities. In Catalonia, vaccination coverage has reached 83.4% and visits to emergency rooms for babies have been reduced by 77%.
A year ago at this time of year, pediatric emergencies were overwhelmed by a strong circulation of RSV. The current landscape has changed dramatically. On October 2nd, the first vaccination campaign against this virus and the effectiveness of the human monoclonal antibody that is administered have made it possible to relieve the pressure on the healthcare system.
The vaccine has achieved a significant reduction in cases of bronchiolitis, visits to the emergency room and hospitalizations compared to previous seasons, the Minister of Health, Manel Balcells, said yesterday in the presentation of the first results of the immunization campaign.
Between October and the second week of December, the hospitals of the Catalan Institute of Health treated around 258 cases of bronchiolitis due to RSV in children less than six months old, compared to the 1,118 treated in the same period of previous year
This year, 78 children have been hospitalized, 84.5% less than the 502 of the previous year. And a total of 24 have been admitted to intensive care units (191 last year, which represents a reduction of 87.4%).
Highly contagious through nasopharyngeal secretions or droplets of saliva from those affected, RSV is one of the main causes of hospitalization in children under the age of five. “For this reason, Health has made a significant effort to alleviate this public health problem”, indicated the Secretary of Public Health, Carmen Cabezas.
In Catalonia, 65,000 doses of Nirsevimab, the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca, have been distributed among pediatric primary care centers and hospitals, at a cost of 14.1 million euros. This amount covers the immunization needs of children born until March 2024.
Vaccination takes place in outpatient clinics (in the case of children born between April and September 2023) and hospitals (for those born between October 2024 and March 2024), before being discharged hospital
Last year, RSV caused 7,523 cases of bronchiolitis in children less than one year old in Catalonia, according to estimates from the Department of Health. This caused 1,058 hospitalisations, of which 396 were in ICU, with a cost of more than 18 million euros for public health. This virus circulates in a seasonal pattern from October to March, and is so common that most children have already been infected by the time they reach the age of two.
Until this year, there was no authorized preventive measure available for all children. Taking into account the impact of the infection, Health decided to start from October the immunization with Nirsevimab (effectiveness of 75%-80% in the prevention of respiratory tract infections) of all children before from his first season of VRS.