Feb 15, 2024 at 4:06 PM Update: 4 hours ago
The Health Council advised on Wednesday that all babies should be vaccinated against the RS virus. What exactly is the virus? How does the vaccination work and what are the side effects?
1. What is the RS virus and how many children are affected by it?
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the most common cold virus in children. Almost all children have had an infection with the virus before the age of two, which mainly occurs in the winter months.
Most children only catch a cold, but in babies the RS virus can cause bronchiolitis or pneumonia, it writes. RIVM. Children born prematurely, with Down syndrome or a congenital heart defect are more at risk of becoming seriously ill.
1 to 2 percent of babies (up to 1 year old) are admitted to hospital due to the RS virus, says the RIVM. Some of them even have to go to intensive care. Most hospital patients were healthy before they got the infection.
The chance of dying from the RS virus in the Netherlands is very small. In countries where there is a lack of medical care, the risk of death is greater.
2. What options are there for vaccination against the RS virus?
There is currently no real vaccine for the RS virus. Children who are at increased risk will receive a so-called “passive vaccination”, it says RIVM. They received the drug palivizumab via an injection, which must be repeated every month during the RSV season. The medicine only works for four weeks.
In the opinion of the Health Council This concerns a new antibody that has recently come onto the market: nirsevimab. The drug is registered with the European Medicines Agency (EMA) as a medicine that can be used for all babies and not just for risk groups.
There are two ways in which nirsevimab can be administered, the council says in the advice. The first is through the mother, before the baby is born. According to the Health Council, it is very important that this is done at least two weeks before the birth, so that the antibodies have enough to reach the child. A second way is to vaccinate the baby in the first year of life.
3. How quickly and for how long is a baby protected after vaccination?
When the vaccine is administered through the mother, the antibodies need two weeks to work on the child, the Health Council writes. If the antibodies are administered directly to the baby via the vaccine, the baby is immediately protected.
Nirsevimab provides protection for at least five months. That is why one injection per RSV season is enough to protect a baby from a serious infection.
For the effect of the vaccine, it is important to see when it is administered. Suppose a mother gives birth after the virus season, then it is not useful to give the vaccine through the mother. It only works for six months and then its effectiveness has already decreased by the time the virus is around.
The same actually applies to the second option: vaccinating the baby immediately. The Health Council advises that children born just before or during the RSV season be offered the drug immediately after birth, or at least within two weeks. Children born after the RSV season are best given the shot just before the start of the new RSV season. That is usually October.
The Health Council therefore prefers to administer antibodies directly to children, so that they are as well protected as possible against the virus.
4. What are the side effects of the vaccine?
If maternal vaccination is chosen, the side effects are generally mild and short-lived, according to the Health Council. Research is still being conducted into a “potential slightly increased risk” of premature birth.
The risk of side effects is also small in children. The EMA sets the example of a red or painful spot at the site of the vaccination or fever, but this is not very different from other vaccinations. In both cases, the Health Council says that the health benefits outweigh the small chance.
In Spain, vaccinations against RSV are already taking place and there have been no serious side effects with more than seven thousand vaccinations, the council says.
5. How quickly will the vaccination be included in the National Vaccination Programme?
The Health Council has advised that the RS virus be included in the National Vaccination Program as soon as possible. The council wrote that down a letter to outgoing State Secretary Maarten van Ooijen of Health. It is now up to the cabinet whether or not to adopt the advice.
Van Ooijen immediately after the advice let them know that there is currently no money to implement the advice. “Funding is not available for several positive vaccination recommendations from the Health Council,” he said. The next cabinet will have to make a decision on this.
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2024-02-15 15:06:22
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