The drugmaker Pfizer announced positive trial results for its RSV vaccine designed to protect newborns.
A new respiratory syncytial virus vaccine shielded newborns from severe cases of the illness in the critical months just after birth, the drugmaker Pfizer announced Tuesday . The one-dose vaccine was given to pregnant people in their second or third trimesters, which triggered production of protective antibodies that then passed through the placenta.
This drop-off in immunity follows a pattern seen with other vaccines given in pregnancy, such as those for tetanus and whooping cough, which was described in a 2021 report in the journal JAMA Pediatrics . In general, vaccine-induced antibodies fall rapidly in the first two months of life and then steadily dwindle over the following four to eight months.
Approximately 58,000 to 80,000 U.S. children under age 5 are hospitalized for RSV each year, and about 100 to 300 children die of the infection, according to the CDC . This year's RSV season kicked off early and aggressively, and doctors have already seen a surge of cases in emergency rooms and pediatric intensive care units, NPR reported .
The recent trial included 7,400 pregnant individuals, age 49 and younger, who either received the RSV vaccine or a placebo shot in their late second to third trimester. The trial spanned 18 countries and began in June 2020, meaning it covered multiple RSV seasons in both hemispheres, according to Pfizer's statement.
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