Local doctor discusses approval of first RSV vaccine for adults

EAST LONGMEADOW, MA (WGGB/WSHM) - The world’s first vaccine to protect older adults against the respiratory virus known as RSV has been green-lit by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

“Ever since I started my training, this has been talked about. It’s kind of one of the golden rings in the sky for pediatrics to have a way to prevent RSV in children,” said Dr. John Kelley with Redwood Pediatrics.

After six decades of research, a vaccine for RSV has been approved for adults 60 and older. This vaccine comes on the heels of a rough RSV season with the virus spreading at unusually high levels and putting those most vulnerable at risk.

Although this is good news for high-risk adults, we wanted to know what this means for another age group severely threatened by the virus: babies and young children. Kelley told us that even though a vaccine has not yet been approved for kids, this is still encouraging news for children’s medicine.

“This gets the foot in the door for a vaccine to be used and studied and looked at for the company to generate income off of the vaccine and hopefully they will start to do studies looking at doing it on young children and the kids that I see,” Kelley noted.

Kelley added that the money generated from an adult vaccine could help lead to future research in children’s RSV prevention. He also told us that a decrease in hospitalizations and ICU time alone will be worth the effort and money put into the development of the vaccine. As for what hope the vaccine brings to kids this RSV season, Kelley said the approval of the shot could lead to fewer infections across all age groups.

“If we get less RSV in the community, then we’ll probably see less RSV overall for kids. However, RSV is so ubiquitous, so out there, such a common viral infection in the wintertime following winter that it might be a hopeful outcome, but I’m not sure it will be a realistic one,” Kelley added.

Three other RSV vaccines for older adults are also in the final phases of testing, along with one that could potentially protect young children. The FDA is reviewing Pfizer’s maternal vaccine to protect infants and is expected to have a decision on that one by the end of August.

Copyright 2023. Western Mass News (WGGB/WSHM). All rights reserved.