It's been widely used in Europe and the US and trials show it can reduce the number of children hospitalised with RSV by 83%.ĭr Paul Griffin: The clinical trial data was done in big clinical trials and now we have real world evidence coming behind it to show they're supportive. and you know it really clearly stacks up so it's great they've made that commitment early and I really want to see the other states follow.Įlizabeth Cramsie: The monoclonal antibody vaccine is a one-off injection. Dr Griffin is adding his voice to calls for the Queensland government to do the same.ĭr Paul Griffin: They've obviously looked at the benefit and the cost benefit analysis, etc. But then the elderly as well, over time protection wanes and so the elderly become vulnerable as well and they can end up in hospital and not survive this infection too.Įlizabeth Cramsie: In Western Australia, the state government last week announced a statewide free RSV vaccine in an attempt to keep the youngest and most vulnerable safe. So yeah, that's certainly a priority group. Things like wheezing and smirk can also arise from this infection. They're the group that end up in hospital the most and have bad outcomes. He says RSV poses the biggest risk for babies six months and under.ĭr Paul Griffin: The group that comprise the greatest number of hospitalisations and poor outcomes are young children, particularly the youngest children or those with medical problems, so things like prematurity or lung disease, etc. So that's a very significant amount, particularly when you consider that two or three percent of those children may end up in hospital.Įlizabeth Cramsie: That's infectious diseases physician and clinical microbiologist Dr Paul Griffin. So a very significant jump in the number of cases that we're seeing at the start of the year and in Queensland we're already over 4,000 cases recorded. But if we take last year for example, where of course there were very few COVID interventions still in place, by this time we'd seen about 6,000 cases across the country and we're at nearly three times that now. Here's Elizabeth Cramsie.Įlizabeth Cramsie: Across the country, RSV cases are climbing.ĭr Paul Griffin: So look, it's hard because we've really interrupted the usual patterns that we see with a lot of these viruses due to the interventions for COVID. It's hoped the jab will help to protect babies and children under the age of five who made up half of Queensland's RSV hospital admissions last year. Western Australia introduced a free statewide RSV vaccine last week and health authorities are imploring the Queensland government to do the same. David Lipson: RSV is one of the more severe respiratory viruses affecting babies and as Queensland grapples with an escalating caseload, there are renewed calls for a free vaccine.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |