United States: The health agency has recently revised its guidelines, which advise the elderly population to receive a vaccine for RSV.
It now says eligibility is 75+ years or 60-74 years if you have comorbidities that make you high-risk.
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That is so, this is because the vaccine may elevate the endangerment of a side effect that sometimes causes paralysis or death.
RSV is also seasonal and annually admits more than 160,000 older persons in the United States. About 6000 to 10,000 people in this age group die from RSV infection annually.
The first-ever RSV vaccine was approved last year, and three have now been approved for use in people ages 60 and up: GSK’s Arexvy, Pfizer’s Abrysvo, and now Moderna has mResvia.
Subsequently, the CDC stated that one dose of one of these RSV vaccines can be given to adults 60 or older but only if they consult their healthcare provider first.
However, “based on currently available evidence,” the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices does not find that the risks of RSV vaccination are being compensated by the benefits in otherwise healthy adults between the ages of 60 and 74.
But for the individuals in this age group who have any of the risk factors, there is a possibility that the treatment may help them.
According to the report published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly, “providers should continue to have flexibility in offering RSV vaccine to patients they assess to be at increased risk for severe disease even if they do not fall into an explicitly named risk category,” as livescience.com reported.
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Therefore, persons in the age range of 60 to 74 can still make a call for the shot if they are more prone to severe RSV infections.
That would apply to persons with chronic heart conditions, a compromised immune stamp index, or those who reside in assisted living and nursing care facilities.
The report also stated that the adults who have received an RSV vaccine “should not receive another dose,” as livescience.com reported.
The new guidelines were issued due to increased incidences of severe health complications, namely, GBS associated with the vaccines.
GBS manifests as either an acute inflammatory demyelinating neuropathy or an acute motor axonal neuropathy, and it is characterized by symptoms such as tingling and numbness, muscle weakness up, and paralysis.