The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a drug to help protect infants from respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The medication, given as a single-dose injection prior to or during RSV season, is a monoclonal antibody. It is intended for babies born during or entering their first RSV season and for children up to 24 months of age who remain vulnerable to severe RSV disease through their second RSV season.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, the vaccine advisory board for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is expected to review and vote on the drug its next meeting on Aug. 3. The FDA is also evaluating an RSV vaccine for pregnant women.
"This is especially exciting for us in pediatrics because vaccinating pregnant women in the second or third trimester of pregnancy can protect babies when they're most vulnerable for developing severe illness with RSV, usually in the first six to 12 months of life," says Dr. Nipunie Rajapakse, a pediatric infectious diseases physician with the Mayo Clinic Children's Center.
