Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is one of the most common causes of childhood respiratory illness, resulting in annual outbreaks among all age groups. In the United States, an estimated 60,000 to 80,000 children, the majority of whom are under 6 months of age, are hospitalized each year. Approximately 100 to 300 kids die from this infection each year. RSV is the single most common cause of death from respiratory illness, after the newborn period, in developing countries. This year, the medical community has made history with the first RSV vaccine approvals for pregnant individuals, infants and the elderly. In this episode, we are taking a deep dive into RSVpref, which is the first RSV vaccine for use in pregnant individuals to protect newborns and infants from severe RSV in the first six months. We are also discussing nirsevimab, a monoclonal antibody, which protects infants and some children against RSV. That includes children 8 –19 at increased risk for severe disease. This is a significant milestone for the scientific community and for public health. “I think now, in another two or three years, we will decrease ER visits, we will decrease hospital visits and I hope we decrease ICU visits. And the next phase of course, hopefully in my lifetime, we get it into developing countries and see impacts on mortality,” Eric Simoes, MD, says.

Dr. Simoes has been a part of the creation of these vaccines since the beginning and is our guest for this highly requested topic. He is a clinical professor of pediatrics and infectious disease at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, as well as a professor of epidemiology at the Colorado School of Public Health. He is currently an active clinical infectious disease physician at Children’s Hospital Colorado. Of important note, Dr. Simoes served as the global primary investigator for the RSVpreF and lead investigator for the development of nirsevimab.

Some highlights from this episode include: 

• How these vaccines received approval and became available on market 
• Indications to delivering this vaccine to a pregnant person 
• Benefits of receiving these vaccines
• The future of this vaccine and its impact on people of different ages   

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