The Western Australian Government is urging people to take advantage of a new free immunisation program to protect young babies and those at risk from R.S.V. from April, babies under 8 months old will have access to the free vaccinations which target the respiratory disease.
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00:00 So, RSV is a really common respiratory virus and it has a huge burden of disease in young
00:07 children. In fact, it's the leading cause of hospitalisation in young children with
00:12 2 to 3% of all babies being admitted to hospital each year and about 8% of Indigenous infants.
00:19 So, from a societal point of view, it costs Australia for hospitalisation for children
00:25 under the age of 5 years about $190 million a year. So, really substantial burden in young
00:32 children.
00:33 So, tell us a bit more about who's eligible to get this free jab.
00:38 So what's really a game changer here is that this monoclonal antibody medicine called Bayfortis
00:46 is actually going to be available for all infants and it lasts for about 5 months. It's
00:52 available for infants from birth and it's about 80% effective against children being
00:58 admitted to hospital. We have had other medications in the past that are short-acting for high-risk
01:05 infants that they can receive sort of once a month for 5 months through the winter season.
01:11 But we've never had a medication like this that's available for all infants, not just
01:16 high-risk babies, to protect them through mainly that winter RSV season. You know, we
01:23 do know that the children at highest risk are those babies within the first 2 months
01:27 of life and premature babies and babies with chronic underlying conditions. But for parents
01:33 listening this is just fantastic news that in WA all babies will have access to this
01:40 monoclonal antibody.
01:42 So what's the take-up of the vaccine likely to be, Margie?
01:45 Well, that's a very good question and I think it really relies on awareness around
01:50 RSV disease for parents and why this is important. It is a medication given to the baby after
01:57 birth but it's very safe and well tolerated. So I think it's going to be important for
02:03 obstetricians, GPs, for all of us to provide clear information for parents so that there
02:08 is free access. And I think what we'd really love to see, of course, is that this is a
02:13 nationwide program across Australia, obviously starting in WA in April, as you said. But
02:19 we'd like to see all states take up this Bayportis medication for young infants so that we can
02:25 really start combating the burden of RSV disease for all infants across Australia.
02:30 And does getting RSV as a baby make you susceptible to future illness as you get older?
02:36 Yeah, that's a really good question. It does. It is linked, early RSV infection is linked
02:41 to recurrent wheeze and an increased risk of asthma through the first 18 years of life.
02:47 So it's not just hospitalisation but then recurrent episodes of illness that are also
02:54 at increased risk for these babies. So this is really good news starting in WA.
03:00 Is there a vaccine, Margie, against RSV for older Australians? Does it affect older people
03:04 as much as it does babies?
03:07 It does. The other sort of end of the age spectrum, over 65, 70 years, there's a high
03:12 burden of RSV disease. And yes, there is a vaccine now for older adults, which has become
03:18 available. There'll actually be two or three options. And what we'd really like to see
03:22 soon, within the next 12 months or so, is a vaccine in pregnancy for women, a maternal
03:29 vaccine against RSV, which is in the pipeline. And again, really important because the highest
03:35 burden of disease for infants is in the first two months of life. So really exciting that
03:40 we're finally seeing new therapeutics in the pipeline, starting with this Bayfortis
03:46 medication for infants after birth.
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