UK Approves RSV Vaccination For Ages 60 And Over

Good news for Britain, its health regulator on Friday has approved Moderna's MRNA.O vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus in adults over 60 years of age. The shot, also known as the mRESVIA is used for preventing the lower respiratory tract disease in older adults. As per the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), RSV is a common virus that spreads easily and could cause infections, which may be mild, cold-like, but can also result into more serious problems like lung infections or even pneumonia.

What is RSV?

As per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it is a common respiratory disease that infects your nose, throat and lungs and can often make it difficult to distinguish between a common cold or other respiratory viruses like the flu or even COVID-19. It mostly spreads during the fall and winter season and peaks around December and January.

Who Are More At Risk?

The youngest and the oldest population are the most vulnerable to this disease. It usually does not cause any severe illness in healthy adults or children, however, people with RSV, who are older or are infants, which means younger than 6 months of age, could become very sick. They may be need to be hospitalized.

It can also cause other severe illnesses like bronchiolitis, which is the inflammation of the small airways in the lungs, and even pneumonia, which is an infection of the lungs. It is most common cause of these two diseases in children who are younger than 1 year of age.

What Helps When A Person Has RSV?

In most cases, a person may require:

Additional oxygen

IV fluids, in case the person is unable to drink to stay hydrated

Intubation, which is a breathing tube inserted through mouth and down the airway with mechanical ventilation

RSV In Older Population

Why the vaccination for older people important? It is because what seems like a small respiratory issue could be dangerous for older people. In the US alone, each year, 100,000-150,000 adults ages 60 get hospitalized due to RSV, notes the CDC. Adults are thus at the highest risk for severe RSV, thus the UK approval for the vaccination is welcomed warmly.

Another reason why it affects older population more severely, because of their age and by then the body either starts shutting down or their functions slow down. Also, many adults may have comorbidities or other underlying health issues like a chronic heart or lung disease, weakened immune system, or are living with underlying medical conditions or are living in nursing homes. In such adults, RSV can sometimes lead to conditions like asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or the COPD, which is a chronic disease of the lungs that makes it hard to breathe, and heart failure, because the heart cannot pump enough blood and oxygen through the body.

Who Should Get The Vaccine?

As per the National Health Service (NHS) UK, if you are pregnant, you must get vaccinated, from the 28th week onwards to help protect your baby after they are born. Also, if you aged between 75 to 79, you must too get vaccinated. However, the new vaccine allows the elderly population under the bracket of 65 to be vaccinated too.