Spain’s Castilla y León Community’s Decision on ‘Immunizing’ Babies from Respiratory Syncytial Virus

Castilla y León is not among the communities that have decided to ‘immunize’ all their babies from the respiratory syncytial virus that causes most bronchiolitis during winters.

He Nirsivamab is authorized in Europe since October last year, but it will not arrive in Spain until the end of next September and only a few communities have decided to buy the first doses of this product.

The Public Health Commission agreed at the end of July that all communities will use the new nirsivamab in the child population at high risk, but the decision to use it widely in all babies under six months -not only those at high risk- it will be a decision made by each territory.

An agreement has not been reached between the autonomous communities. Some are in favor of including it in their financed vaccination schedule, others do not see it clearly due to the high price it has, and a third group -in which Castilla y León is located- that is waiting for a possible group agreement, but that he could announce a decision in the coming weeks. Not surprisingly, Castilla y León has one of the most complete and advanced vaccination calendars in the entire national health system and is one of the first autonomies to incorporate new serums, but in this case there is a key fact and it is that it is not about a vaccine.

Pediatricians point out that, in reality, “It is not a vaccine, as is being said, but a monoclonal antibody.” That is to say. It does not generate defenses or antibodies, but binds to an area of ​​the respiratory syncytial virus -which is the one that causes around 75% of the cases of bronchiolitis that are registered between the months of November to February- and in this way prevents it from attack healthy cells.

In the absence of a consensus document among the communities, specialists applaud the characteristics of this new product. «One of the advantages of this antibody is that, unlike the previous ones, which were administered every month during the winter season, this has an effect of several months and could be valid for the whole winter», explains the pediatrician of the Hospital of Salamanca, Pedro Gómez de Quero.

Another distinctive feature is that “the previous one was used in risk groups such as premature babies, chronic patients, etc., and this new product is expected to be universal for all patients, not just those at risk.”

In all tests carried out so far «It has been shown that the income that occurs among the population that has been immunized is much less and, in addition, the cases that are registered are also less serious.

At the moment there are only eight autonomies that have decided not to wait for the Ministry and start buying doses of the new product with a view to administering it at the end of September. These are Catalonia, Galicia, Madrid, Murcia, Andalusia, Asturias, the Canary Islands and Castilla-La Mancha.

As can be seen, in this case it is not a political decision -a criterion that, unfortunately, is usually decisive when taking measures within the Interterritorial Health Council-, since among the communities that have given the step forward are represented the Popular Party, the PSOE and ERC.

2023-08-17 04:00:01
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