RSV concern in UK: Top doctor 'frustrated' over vaccine delay for babies
Baby
In the United Kingdom, a top children's doctor has issued a warning over the delay in a new vaccine to combat respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). claiming that the dire situation may lead to more babies and infants in need of hospital treatment this winter.
Dr Camilla Kingdon, who is the president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH), told The Independent that she is frustrated as an RSV vaccine for babies has not yet been rolled out.
Dr Kingdon said: "We are frustrated [because] if we had acted sooner, we might have at least reduced the extent of the impact this winter and we have missed an opportunity there."
"One of the aspects of winter that always fills us with dread is that we know that we will end up having to stop elective surgical lists because our hospitals are at full capacity with all the infections that we see in winter," she said.
"You've got to get ahead of the game. We are really disappointed that the programme hasn't been rolled out in a way that is going to make an impact for this winter, because we have been talking about this endlessly, but there's been a delay in activating the programme," she added.
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What is RSV?
RSV, which is a common and contagious virus that causes infections of the respiratory tract, affects both children and adults. Approximately, it causes 30,000 hospital admissions each winter and leads to dozens of deaths.
A last year's government report stated that Public Health England (PHE) estimated that over 60 per cent of children have been infected by their first birthday, and over 80 per cent by two years of age. Notably, the antibodies that are developed after an infection in early childhood, do not prevent further RSV infections throughout life.
RSV is a common cause of pneumonia but often causes cold-like symptoms. Since the virus was originally discovered in 1956, efforts to successfully manufacture a shot have been thwarted by the virus' complicated molecular structure and safety issues with earlier vaccine attempts.
Earlier this year in July, Britain's health regulator approved GSK's vaccine for RSV. The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) authorised GSK's shot, called Arexvy, for active immunisation to prevent lower respiratory tract disease caused by RSV in adults 60 years and older.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson told The Independent: "The NHS already offers monoclonal antibodies which provide protection against RSV to infants at very high risk. We are developing plans for delivering wider infant and adult RSV programmes in collaboration with UKHSA, NHS England and manufacturers. We will update in due course."
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