US health authorities authorized for the first time on Monday, August 21, a vaccine intended to protect babies against bronchiolitis, which will be administered for this purpose to pregnant women. The vaccine from pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, marketed under the name Abrysvo, targets respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which particularly affects young children.
The vaccine is licensed for pregnant women between 32 and 36 weeks of gestational age, the US Drug Administration (FDA) said in a statement. The single injection will be made into a muscle. Children will be protected during their first six months of life, the FDA explains. This same vaccine had already been approved since May in the United States for people aged 60 and over.
It was also approved in July by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) – both for babies and for the elderly – but the European Commission must now decide on its marketing authorization within the European Union.
This virus “is a common cause of illness in children, and infants are among those most at risk of developing severe illness, which can lead to hospitalizations,” said FDA official Peter Marks. , welcoming this new option against a “potentially fatal” disease.
