Local OBGYN calls RSV vaccine for pregnant mothers a 'gamechanger'
Monday, the FDA approved the first RSV vaccine for pregnant women so their babies will be born with protection against the respiratory infection that can be deadly.
"It's going to be a gamechanger because RSV is a problem for babies, in fact it is the leading cause of infant hospitalization in the United States," Dr. Constantine Economus, a Valley OBGYN said.
The Pfizer vaccine could be available for release to the public by late Fall, early Winter.
"These little tiny babies, their immune systems are not great at the job yet and it just sits in there, right at the bottom of the lungs, they get fluid buildup, it gets hard for them to breathe," Dr. Ben Neuman, a virologist said. "It is just miserable and nobody needs it and stamp this thing out, I am all in favor of that."
A cold-like nuisance, RSV can be life threatening for the very young when they are most vulnerable. The vaccine proved very effective at reducing severe infections.
"Most people just get a little cough, even most babies end up with cold like symptoms but it can become a serious pneumonia or something called bronchiolitis where the throat swells," Dr. Economus said. "The idea with the shot is going to reduce the risk, their statistics say about 81-82% in the first ninety days and 69% for the 180 days after that, so obviously those are big numbers."
Right now, the vaccine is being recommended late in pregnancy, 32-36 weeks to give enough time for mom to pass along the virus fighting antibodies.
"Honestly, that is the best way to get it into these babies because if you were to vaccinate a little tiny baby, they probably don't have the immune cells built up to a point where they could actually do anything with a vaccine, it would just sit there and go away, where as this is actually really effective right when you need it, right there at the beginning of life," Dr. Neuman said.
If enough pregnant women get vaccinated, Pfizer predicts the U.S. could prevent as many as 20,000 infant hospitalizations a year.
Dr. Economus says the most important thing pregnant mothers can do is talk to their doctor to see if its right for them.