Q&A: Getting the word out about new tools to protect infants from RSV
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Key takeaways:
- RSV is a leading cause of hospitalization in young children.
- A doctor’s recommendation could impact whether a parent chooses RSV immunization.
For the first time, many Americans will enter the fall with multiple options to protect themselves against respiratory syncytial virus, even young children.
Earlier this year, the FDA approved the world’s first two RSV vaccines, beginning a string of regulatory decisions favoring RSV prevention methods.
The FDA has also approved the monoclonal antibody nirsevimab for the prevention of RSV in newborns and infants and the first RSV vaccine for pregnant people to protect infants during their initial RSV season, which still has to be reviewed by the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) before it is available.
We asked Sean T. O’Leary, MD, MPH, professor of pediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and chair of the AAP’s Committee on Infectious Diseases, if physicians are prepared to talk to parents about RSV prevention.
Healio: Has word gotten through to physicians that there is a vaccine and monoclonal antibody available to protect young children from RSV?
O’Leary: I'm surprised at how many people still haven't really heard about the new products against RSV. We continue to work to get the word out there. There are certainly resources available — we've got a couple of separate sources from AAP that answer most of the questions that I've been hearing, so the resources are out there in terms of the facts about the product and a lot of the FAQs. But it's a matter of going to look for them, and I don't think most people have seen those yet.
Healio: Do providers have all the information they need to recommend them?
O’Leary: The most important predictor of whether a child gets an immunization or not is a strong recommendation from their pediatrician or family doctor, so it will be really important to get pediatricians and family doctors the information they need to talk with families . It would be great to get information to all expectant parents. Ultimately, they want to hear what their pediatrician or family doctors has to say. Right now, we're doing our best to make sure that pediatricians and the family doctors have the information they need to recommend these products.
For the maternal vaccine, that one is not recommended yet by the ACIP, which has to meet to decide how that's going to be used. So, right now, the messaging is primarily around nirsevimab.
Healio: What would you say to parents who are hesitant about these shots?
O’Leary: Right now, we know nirsevimab is going to be available, so I’ll focus on how I would discuss nirsevimab. I'm encouraging pediatricians and family doctors to recommend it for all the infants they take care of.
What I would tell families is that this is a really exciting new product; this is something that we have not had. RSV is the leading cause of hospitalization in young children. Most children who are hospitalized for RSV are actually healthy children, and now we have something that can prevent that, and it's very, very exciting. Although it's a new product, we have a lot of confidence in its safety based both on the clinical trials, and what we know about how these products work.
We don't expect there would be any kind of unusual safety problems with nirsevimab. It looks to be a very safe product; essentially what it's doing is just giving young infants direct protection against RSV when they're in their highest risk period. It gives them, essentially, immediate protection against the highest risk of hospitalization for RSV in those first several months of life.
We now have one product – nirsevimab – to prevent RSV in infants, and with the maternal vaccine, we may have two very soon; these are huge steps forward for keeping kids healthy.
References:
O’Leary ST, et al. Pediatrics. 2023;doi: 10.1542/peds.2023-063955.
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