The three respiratory viruses that have put the health system in trouble this winter already have a vaccine. In addition to the flu and covid, there is also the syncytial virus (RSV), known mainly for bringing babies to the health system suffering from bronchiolitis, a fact that collapses both primary care and hospitals. But, although it is less common, RSV also attacks the elderly, causing high rates of hospitalization and mortality. Even more than the flu, and with a higher cost (5,000 euros for flu hospitalization compared to 5,600 for RSV).
The vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus is now available for pregnant women and those over 60. For now, it is funded for women, but not for the elderly, who can purchase it with a doctor’s prescription for 234.95 euros (a single dose), although it is expected that the Vaccine Report of the Ministry of Health “will not take long” to include its funding.
The bivalent vaccine against the F protein in prefusion (RSVpreF), developed by Pfizer, is indicated for pregnant women between weeks 24 and 36, and with its inoculation not only they are protected, especially the baby up to 6 months, the period in which the virus is most prevalent. It is marketed under the name Abrysvo and is injected into the muscle of the upper arm.
This drug is complementary to the immunization that, since October, is being given to newborns with nirsevimab, a monoclonal antibody (not a vaccine) that has caused the rates of hospitalizations for RSV to plummet, which is the second cause of death in infants under 12 months in the world.
According to María Garcés, pediatrician at the Nazareth health center (Valencia) and member of the Vaccine Advisory Committee of the Spanish Association of Vaccinology (CAV-AEP), there is “no interference” between the two drugs, which even ” they can be complementary”.
It is estimated that, in Spain, infections by this virus cause between 7,000 and 14,000 hospitalizations per year, that is to say, 2% of cases, without forgetting that syncytial virus can lead to future sequelae, such as asthma-like symptoms in the first 6 years of life.
“Until a few years ago, vaccinating a pregnant woman was a taboo subject, but thanks to scientific evidence, advances and the industry, the importance of vaccination has been seen, initially so that they can protect themselves from various diseases, and then the fetus”, explains Inmaculada Cuesta, nurse, midwife and secretary of the National Association of Nursing and Vaccines.
When a woman is vaccinated, she generates antibodies that are transferred to the fetus through the placenta. “It is an altruistic act that the woman does for the benefit of her child”, to whom she gives “a vital shield” against RSV in his first six months of life, he points out.
But RSV is not exclusive to infants, points out Ángel Gil, professor of Preventive Medicine at Reide University Madrid. It also affects adults over the age of 60 or 65. In-hospital mortality related to cases of this virus is greater than with the flu.
90% of the population of this age has an associated chronic disease, which increase with age as the immune system weakens, so protection against any respiratory disease “is essential”. Gil remembers that the vaccine will not prevent infection (as neither does the flu vaccine), but it will prevent hospitalizations and deaths.
