The first vaccine World for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) has recently been approved by the Food and Drug Organization. The mentioned vaccine is called Arexvy and it is made by the British pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline.
RSV is a ubiquitous source of respiratory disease. Most of the time, this virus infection manifests itself as a cold, but it can spread to the lower respiratory tract and cause more severe complications such as pneumonia and bronchiolitis (swelling of the small airways of the lungs). The presence of these complications can be a threat to human life and occurs mostly in children and the elderly, so RSV is a serious problem for public health.
Results of RSV vaccine trials
In their trials with the Arexvy vaccine, scientists found that this drug can significantly reduce the risk of developing lower respiratory tract diseases. During this trial, more than 24,000 people over the age of 60 received a dose of the vaccine. Compared to the control group, people who received Arexvy were 86 percent less likely to develop RSV-related lower respiratory tract disease and 94 percent less likely to develop RSV-related severe lower respiratory tract disease.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), between 60,000 and 160,000 Americans over the age of 65 are hospitalized each year due to RSV, and up to 10,000 may die from it.
Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said in the agency’s statement:
“The first RSV vaccine is an important public health achievement for preventing a potentially life-threatening disease and demonstrates the FDA’s continued commitment to facilitating the development of safe and effective vaccines for use in the United States.”
However, there are still some important questions about Arexvy that need to be answered. For example, it is not clear how long this vaccine will protect people.
