People expecting a baby show interest in receiving RSV vaccine
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Key takeaways:
- Over half of people expecting a baby said they were interested in receiving an RSV vaccine.
- However, real-world data indicate that uptake was much lower than that last winter.
More than half of people expecting a baby said in a survey that they were “very likely” to get vaccinated against respiratory syncytial virus during pregnancy, researchers reported.
The survey was conducted in March 2023, months before the FDA approved the first RSV vaccine for pregnant people, which is given to pregnant patients in the second or third trimester to protect infants during the first 6 months after birth when.
The FDA also approved nirsevimab last summer, a monoclonal antibody to prevent RSV in infants entering their first RSV season.
“We were curious how pregnant people would perceive the possibility of an of an RSV vaccine that the pregnant person will receive in pregnancy to protect their infant,” Jennifer K. Saper, MD, MSc, FAAP, assistant professor of pediatrics at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, told Healio. “It's similar to other pregnancy vaccines but different than what we've had available before, as far as protecting infants against RSV.”
Saper and colleagues used the survey platform Qualtrics to collect responses from a sample of 1,619 People who were or planned to become pregnant and whose demographics reflected the country’s population of pregnant people.
According to 1,528 surveys included in the analysis, 54% of respondents indicated they were “very likely” to get the vaccine against RSV during pregnancy, and this rose to 63% if they reported perceiving RSV infection as serious and likely. Among those who felt RSV infection was not serious, only 35% planned to get vaccinated.
“One of the interesting things that came out of this survey is that pregnant people who either had had a child at home already or thought that RSV had the potential to be severe ... were more likely to say they'd get the RSV vaccine during pregnancy,” Saper said.
Real-world data indicate that uptake was much lower during the first RSV season that vaccines were available. As of Jan. 31, 2024 — the latest data available from the CDC — RSV vaccine coverage among pregnant people was just 17.8%.
Saper and colleagues said education about RSV illness in infants and the availability of RSV vaccines for pregnant people may be a key component of efforts to encourage RSV vaccination in pregnancy.
References:
CDC. Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) vaccination coverage, pregnant persons, United States. https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/imz-managers/coverage/rsvvaxview/pregnant-persons-coverage-intent.html. Accessed April 24, 2024.
Saper JK, et al. Pediatrics. 2024;doi:10.1542/peds.2023-065140.
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