The United States has approved the world’s first vaccine against the so-called respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The Arexvy vaccine from British pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK for short) to protect against respiratory disease has been approved for adults over the age of 60, the US Food and Drug Administration announced on Wednesday.
The authority spoke of an important achievement “to prevent a disease that can be life-threatening”. According to official figures, between 6,000 and 10,000 people over the age of 65 die from the virus each year in the US.
The RS virus is a pathogen that has spread worldwide and usually causes only mild symptoms. However, it can cause serious respiratory disease and become dangerous, especially in the elderly and people with weakened immune systems, as well as in newborns and infants.
After the coronavirus pandemic eased, serious respiratory illnesses had significantly increased again in many countries around the world. In Austria, for example, more newborns and babies than usual had to be treated in hospitals for acute respiratory diseases last winter. Experts suspect a catch-up effect after the corona pandemic, in which relatively few children came into contact with RSV. So far, the disease can only be treated symptomatically.
Approval in the EU probably soon
GSK’s vaccine is expected to be approved soon in the European Union (EU). The EU medicines agency EMA already gave the green light last week. Final approval by the European Commission should therefore take place very soon. The pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Moderna are also hoping for approval for the vaccines they have developed against RSV.
Vaccines against the virus have been sought for years. Experts assume that over the next ten years more than ten billion euros in turnover can be achieved.
The virus is considered highly contagious
Like most common cold viruses, the RS virus is transmitted by aerosols. This means that when an infected person sneezes, blows his nose, coughs or speaks, he releases small droplets of the virus into the air, which are then inhaled by others. The pathogen enters the body through the nasal mucosa and conjunctiva of the eye.
The virus is also likely to be transmitted through hands and contaminated surfaces (smear). The best way to prevent contamination is through hygiene measures that we already know about the coronavirus.
Source: Krone
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