Pfizer’s RSV vaccine for older adults, pregnant people approved by Health Canada

Health Canada on Thursday approved another respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine for adults over the age of 60 and pregnant people. Pfizer’s bivalent RSV vaccine, Abrysvo, has been authorized for the use of pregnant individuals from 32 through 36 weeks gestational age for the prevention of lower respiratory tract disease caused by RSV in infants from birth through six months of age, according to Health Canada .

The shot is also approved for Canadians 60 years and older. “Vaccines are considered to be the most effective tool in public health for preventing illness and can help reduce the stress on our healthcare system and professionals including nurses, doctors, and others on the frontline,” Dr. Darine El Chaâr, maternal fetal medicine physician at The Ottawa Hospital, said in a press release on Thursday.

6:14 Holiday health update: Navigating the flu, RSV and COVID Trending Now Jeffrey Epstein docs unsealed: Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew among names Japan Airlines plane bursts into flames after collision on Tokyo runway “Vaccines administered through maternal immunization can also help play a critical role in decreasing the gap of vulnerability in the first few months of an infant’s life, as well as helping to protect their mothers, who may be at increased risk of severe disease compared with non pregnant women.” Story continues below advertisement RSV infection is a major cause of lower respiratory illness, particularly among infants, young children and older adults.

RSV season in Canada usually starts in the late fall and lasts until spring. This is the second RSV vaccine approved by Health Canada . The initial one, Arexvy by GSK, received approval on Aug. 4, 2023, but is only for adults aged 60 years and up. More on Health 3 Montreal ERs hit above 200% capacity, despite pleas to avoid if you can ‘State of chaos’: Man spends 5 days in hospital, speaks out on health care crisis Health Canada flags ‘serious’ risks of unauthorized sexual enhancement products Polar bear dip 2024: Hundreds of Canadians brave cold for new year ‘reboot’.