CDC recommends RSV vaccine given in pregnancy to protect babies

Pregnant people should get an RSV vaccine from Pfizer that transfers antibodies to their babies, according to a new CDC recommendation. It's the first RSV shot of its kind.

Pregnant people should get an RSV vaccine at 32 to 36 weeks’ gestation in order to protect their newborns from RSV, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday.

An advisory committee to the agency voted 11-1 to recommend the injection. Soon after, CDC Director Mandy Cohen formally endorsed that recommendation, the final step that allows the vaccine to be distributed to the public.

The single-dose shot, made by Pfizer, is called Abrysvo and already approved by the Food and Drug Administration. It spurs the production of antibodies in the mother that transfer through the placenta. The vaccine is the first approved that can protect babies from RSV. 

That protection lasts through their first six months, clinical trial data showed. When given at 32 to 36 weeks’ gestation, Abrysvo was found to lower the risk of severe disease from RSV among infants by 91% within roughly three months after birth. By around six months, the efficacy was just under 77%.

RSV is typically mild in young, healthy adults, but it poses a bigger threat to children younger than 5. The virus causes up to 80,000 hospitalizations and up to 300 deaths annually among that age group in the United States. Almost 80% of children hospitalized with RSV under age 2 have no underlying medical conditions. 

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/cdc-rsv-vaccine-pregnant-people-protect-babies-rcna116908

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