RSV vaccine trialled at Barwon Health now available for pregnant women

The RSV vaccine trialled at Barwon Health is now available in Australia for pregnant women.

Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) causes cold-like symptoms, but infants and older adults are more likely to develop severe cases. The disease burden of RSV in young children is extremely high, with virtually all children getting an RSV infection by the time they are two years old.

The Barwon Health Clinical Trials Unit (CTU), part of the Adrian Costa Clinical Trials Centre, was the Australian lead site for this clinical trial, which involved:

• a single vaccine (blinded to either placebo or the RSV vaccine), a seven-day diary to monitor for any reactions to this vaccine and two blood tests for serologic assessment.
• following of infant participants born to enrolled maternal participants from birth to either 12 months or 24 months of age for RSV surveillance and safety.
• Cord blood collected at delivery for serologic assessment and regular physical examinations by the study paediatrician.

Congratulations to the CTU team, and a special thank you to our trial participants, without whom these important breakthroughs would not be possible.