The Immunisation Foundation of Australia have expressed mounting concerns that Australians at the greatest risk of severe Respiratory Syncytial Virus will miss out on protection from lung infection after the government failed to commit to a national RSV immunisation program.
“Australia urgently needs a nationwide RSV immunisation program,” said Catherine Hughes AM, Founder and Director of the Immunisation Foundation of Australia.
“RSV is the number one cause of hospitalisation of Australian babies, with our littlest ones spending almost 33,000 days in hospital with the virus last year alone,”1,2 she said. “RSV is also a leading cause of severe illness and death in older Australians.”
“For the first time, the Australian Government could help protect against severe RSV and keep thousands out of hospital.”
Ms Hughes said that rulings against the funding of RSV immunisations are at odds with the massive reductions in hospital admissions seen not only in clinical trials, but in overseas countries and two Australian states which have funded all-infant RSV immunisation programs.
“The success of RSV immunisation programs internationally, and now in Queensland and Western Australia, provides compelling evidence that we can dramatically reduce the number of babies admitted to hospital each winter,” Ms Hughes said.
“The impact of these state-based programs should serve as a catalyst for the Australian Government to commit to a national program to ensure every baby in every postcode has access to RSV protection in 2025,” she said. “Protection against RSV should not be determined by where you live, nor how much money you have.”
Ms Hughes said that the increasing number of countries now implementing large-scale RSV immunisation programs would put increasing pressure on global immunisation supplies.
“We cannot risk further delays. Political leadership is required to ensure RSV immunisations are secured and available in time for winter 2025,” she said.
