Jan 22, 2025 - Health

Maternal RSV vaccines found to cut infection risk

Tina Reed

Illustration of a pattern of syringes, with a spotlight on one of them. — Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios

Vaccinating pregnant women against RSV reduced the risk of infection in their infants by 61% compared with newborns with unvaccinated mothers, new data from Epic Research shows.

Why it matters: RSV is most common cause of hospitalization of children under the age of 1 in the U.S. The Food and Drug Administration in 2023 approved Pfizer's Abrysvo for use from 32 to 36 weeks into a pregnancy.

What they found: Epic looked at the first season the shots were on the market when more than half of infants received the inoculation.

Looking at data from roughly 58,000 infants born between September 2023 and May 2024, researchers found those whose mothers received the RSV vaccine were 61% less likely to get the infection.
They also were 78% less likely to to be admitted to hospital.
The study drew on data from more than 289 million patient records.

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Maternal RSV vaccines found to cut infection risk

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