In the US, RSV vaccines reduced the risk of severe outcomes by 80% — TIME
In the United States, a study by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) involving 14.8 million people aged 65 and older enrolled in Medicare showed the high effectiveness of vaccines against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Vaccination reduced the likelihood of RSV-related hospitalization or death by approximately 80%, TIME reports.
The study results were published on September 18 in the journal JAMA Network Open. The work covered people over the age of 65 who were enrolled in the Medicare program and was larger in scale than previous studies of the effectiveness of such vaccines.
Two vaccines produced similar results
Researchers evaluated RSV vaccines made by GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer. Overall, both drugs demonstrated similar results. Edward Walsh, a professor of medicine at the University of Rochester who was not involved in the work, noted that the results of previous studies also corresponded to clinical trial data.
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Vaccinated participants were more likely to live in wealthier areas and were more often vaccinated against influenza and COVID-19. This raised the question of whether better survival rates were linked to access to medical care. However, an analysis designed to test the impact of this factor did not change the conclusion that RSV vaccination is highly effective.
The need for a repeat dose is still being studied
Scientists continue to determine whether a repeat vaccine dose is needed and when it should be administered. According to Walsh, many members of the target age group were vaccinated in the first year the drugs became available, so Moderna's mRNA vaccine, released in 2024, saw less use.
Walsh also noted that after repeated administration of the vaccine, antibody production is not as intense as after the first dose. It is currently unknown how much this affects protection, so additional research is needed to make recommendations to patients. At the same time, vaccines against other viruses, including parainfluenza, as well as drugs to protect against several respiratory infections, are being developed.
