A vaccine for the respiratory virus RSV will soon be available for people aged 60 and above. The therapeutic goods administration has approved the use of the vaccine for people with a prescription, to help stop the potentially deadly virus in its tracks. Most cases of the virus are mild, but some can lead to chest infections like bronchiolitis and pneumonia.
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TVTranscript
00:00 RSV is one of the three big respiratory viruses.
00:05 So we have the COVID-19, we have influenza,
00:09 and we now have RSV.
00:11 And RSV was only made notifiable in 2021.
00:15 So we're still getting a real handle on
00:18 how bad it can become.
00:19 But last year, for example,
00:21 there were 130,000 notified cases.
00:24 So it is quite a substantial disease.
00:26 There are two types of vaccines
00:28 which have been approved in the USA.
00:30 One is for pregnant women,
00:32 and that protects young children up to six months of age.
00:36 And the other is for older people 60 years and above.
00:38 And it's that second one that's now available in Australia.
00:41 So yes, it can be of great help to people
00:44 who are at high risk in the older age groups,
00:47 but we're still waiting approval for the vaccine
00:49 for pregnant women in Australia.
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