- Cook Government's $11 million RSV immunisation program reaches major milestone
- 20,000 WA children protected from highly infectious respiratory virus
- Hundreds of infant hospitalisations being prevented this winter
The Cook Government's $11 million groundbreaking immunisation program has reached a major milestone with 20,000 children now protected from respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
RSV is a highly infectious respiratory virus that infects up to two-thirds of all babies in their first year of life and, every year, hospitalises more than 1,000 infants in WA.
WA was the first state to introduce a free RSV immunisation of the antibody Nirsevimab for eligible children earlier this year, which protects infants for up to five months to cover the duration of the average winter RSV season.
Recently published data from the Northern Hemisphere shows that for every 25 doses of Nirsevimab administered, one RSV-related hospitalisation is prevented.
This means that WA's RSV immunisation program has so far prevented 760 hospitalisations this year, which is a huge game changer for paediatric medicine.
While WA's RSV season is just beginning, data through to the end of July shows that RSV-associated hospitalisations among Nirsevimab-eligible babies aged under eight months are down 53 per cent compared to the same period last year.
The RSV immunisation program is also expected to prevent thousands of emergency department presentations and GP consultations this year.
Babies born from 1 October 2023, Aboriginal children and some medically at high-risk children born from 1 October 2022, as well as newborns in birthing hospitals, can receive Nirsevimab for free until the end of September this year.
Parents who have not had their eligible babies immunised are encouraged to book an appointment with their GP, Community Health Clinic or Aboriginal Medical Service that provide childhood immunisation. Parents of newborns will be offered the immunisation before they leave hospital.
For more information on the free RSV immunisation program please visit WA Health.
Comments attributed to Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson:
"I would like to thank parents and providers who have participated in the rollout of Australia's first free RSV immunisation program.
"Twenty thousand children are now protected from RSV, which is a remarkable achievement given that an infant RSV immunisation program did not exist globally just 12 months ago.
"The Cook Government's $11 million investment is already protecting over 750 babies from getting seriously ill or hospitalised this winter.
"I encourage all parents of eligible children yet to get their babies immunised from RSV to book an appointment with their local provider and ensure their newborns are immunised against this highly infectious disease."
