The first pregnant women in Stockport have received their vaccinations against Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) this week, as part of a new country-wide NHS campaign.
Maternity and antenatal teams based at both Stepping Hill Hospital and community midwifery locations across Stockport offered expectant mothers the new vaccination, with several taking up the vaccine within the first few days.
It follows from the team’s previous longstanding success in vaccinating pregnant women against other illnesses, including flu.
RSV is a leading cause of infant mortality around the world. It is a common cause of coughs and colds but can lead to severe lung infections like pneumonia and infant bronchiolitis, which are highly dangerous to older people and young children.
As part of winter preparations, the NHS is now vaccinating pregnant women 28 weeks gestation and over, and older adults, including those turning 75 on or after 1st September.
There will also be a one-off ‘catch-up’ offer for everyone aged 75 to 79 years old to ensure the older age group are protected as the winter months approach.
Having the vaccine during pregnancy is the best way to protect a baby from getting seriously ill with RSV, as the vaccine boosts the mother’s immune system to produce more antibodies against the virus to help protect the baby from the day they are born.
Research from the thousands of women across the world who have been vaccinated against RSV shows that it reduces the risk of severe lung infection in young babies by around 70% in the first six months of life, with NHS teams across England gearing up to roll out the jabs all year round as of this week.
RSV cases in children have been increasing in the past couple of years, with an average of 146 young children in hospital each day nationally at the peak in winter last year (w/e 3 December 2023), up 11% on the peak observed during the previous winter (132) from the same time in late November. This amounted to around 450,000 GP attendances in England last year, and 33,000 hospital admissions among those aged 5 and under.
A recent study in the Lancet showed that the new programme could prevent 5,000 hospitalisations and 15,000 A&E attendances for infants – a critical, life-saving step forward to help front line staff prepare for increased winter pressures.
The same modelling suggests that the first season of the older adult’s catch-up programme could nationally prevent around 2,500 hospital admissions, 15,000 GP visits and 60,000 RSV illnesses in adults in the older age group.
