Vaccination against the RS virus may become part of the national vaccination programme. The Ministry of Health is asking the Health Council for advice on adding such a vaccine to the programme, a spokesperson said.
The RS virus is the most common common cold virus in children, particularly circulating in the winter. Young babies can become seriously ill after infection. In the Netherlands, hardly any children die from RS, but children do regularly end up in hospital. According to UMC Utrecht, 150 to 200 babies in the Netherlands have to go to intensive care every year as a result of an infection with the virus.
Last week it was announced that a second vaccine against RS has been found safe and effective by scientists from UMC Utrecht, among others. It is a vaccine that is administered to the pregnant woman. It will produce antibodies, which will be passed on to the baby. Another vaccine against RS was already approved for use in Europe last year. That vaccine is administered to the baby itself.
The Health Council has announced that the formal request for advice on the two vaccines has not yet been received, but the council is aware that the ministry is working on it. Incidentally, a spokeswoman points to the fact that the vaccine to be administered to the pregnant woman has not yet been approved for use in Europe. An advice about that vaccine only makes sense if that has happened, she explains. The RS virus is the second leading cause of death among children worldwide, after malaria, according to UMC Utrecht.
