Epidemiologists are already preparing for a national immunisation rollout by conducting a survey of pregnant women and parents of young children to gauge what they know about RSV and how they would feel about these vaccines and preventative drugs being given to newborns and in pregnancy.
Head of the Vaccine Trials Group at the Telethon Kids Institute in Perth,Professor Peter Richmond said:“As a paediatrician who has looked after sick babies with RSV for over 30 years,the idea that we could prevent a large proportion of these illnesses is fantastic,and I feel privileged to have been involved in the process.”
“I am very keen to make the most of this opportunity here in Australia,” he said.
The US and Europe are expected to license Nirsevimab for use by late 2022 or early 2023,the international network of scientists conducting clinical trials of the RSV revealed inThe Lancet Infectious Diseasesjournal this week.
If Australian regulators follow suit – as they usually do – RSV immunisation could be available before the Australian winter – and RSV season – in 2024,Associate Professor Nicholas Wood paediatrician and sub-dean in the Discipline of Child and Adolescent Health at the University of Sydney said.
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“Considering how bad[the] RSV season was this year,it will be very welcome,” he said.
Health Minister Mark Butler said it was great to see Australians again at the forefront of medical research,and it was up to the pharmaceutical company sponsors to provide a submission to the TGA,which along with ATAGI would determine whether it’s safe,effective and appropriate in an Australian context.
“An application to register it has not been submitted to the TGA at this stage,” Butler said.
Richmond said the burden “of disease we may be able to prevent will be even greater than first thought”,including reducing ear infections in babies and decreasing serious complications such as pneumonia associated with RSV. A further benefit would be in decreasing antibiotic prescriptions.
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Among the candidates completing phase 3 trials are two vaccines for pregnant women that would enable antibodies to cross over the placenta to protect infants in the first six months of life,while clinical trial results for adults over 60 were also looking promising,The Lancet article reported.
Phase 3 trials of a second monoclonal antibody for premature babies and babies born with congenital heart disease or chronic lung disease began this week.
Richmond hoped that,in the next 10 years,vaccines and preventative drugs would be available for mothers,babies,toddlers and older adults,as well as combined COVID,influenza and RSV vaccines.
Professor Fiona Russell,paediatrician and specialist in infections,vaccines and global child health at the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute said safe and effective immunisations and preventative treatments for RSV could not come quickly enough.
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“It’s long overdue,” she said. “This infection is what keeps children’s hospitals full each winter.”
A short-acting monoclonal antibody prophylactic has been available for high-risk infants for about 20 years,but the costly treatment involved monthly injections.
“The newer monoclonal antibodies are longer lasting and one injection given before the RSV season took off would last one season,” Russell said.
Associate Professor Hannah Moore at the Wesfarmers Centre for Vaccines and Infectious Diseases and Curtin University is part of the research team preparing for a future immunisation rollout by conducting a community survey about RSV awareness and vaccine acceptance.
“After many years working in this space,I can’t wait to see a safe and effective vaccine program for RSV implemented in our community,significantly reducing hospitalisations and longer-term effects of the virus,” she said.
The biggest challenge will be getting affordable RSV vaccines to poorer countries,that account for the vast majority of deaths and severe illness.
But no monoclonal antibody or vaccine is within reach for low-income countries that account for the vast majority of RV deaths and severe illness,the international group of researchers said.
Russell said,“It is critical that the development of vaccines have in mind how to make them accessible and affordable for children in the poorest countries,which account for 99 per cent of RSV deaths.“
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