What is RSV, and why are we vaccinating people against it when they reach age 75?

Dr Hein Le Roux, local GP at Churchdown surgery and Deputy Chief Medical Officer, NHS Gloucestershire, talks about the RSV virus, how it can affect older people and why the NHS is offering people a new vaccine against RSV when they reach the age of 75.

“RSV (or Respiratory Syncytial Virus to give it its full name) is an infectious disease of the airways and lungs. It can occur all year round, but we see more cases during the winter months. It often causes symptoms similar to a cold, including cough, sore throat, sneezing and a runny or blocked nose.

Most of the time people can recover without medical intervention at home with self-care.

For some older people who are more vulnerable to the virus, RSV can cause people to become wheezy or short of breath and lead to pneumonia and other life-threatening conditions. Every year during winter across England thousands of people need hospital care for RSV.

That’s why the NHS is offering a new vaccine which has been developed to fight RSV. People will be offered it when they reach their 75^th birthday, but in order to protect older people this coming winter who have already reached that age, we’re also offering a ‘catch up’ jab to those aged 75 up to the age of 79.

It’s a single dose which will help to protect you as you reach an age at highest risk of serious RSV infection. Unlike the flu vaccine, it isn’t something you need to have every year.

Some people may still get RSV despite having a vaccination, but if you do it should be less severe.

If you’re already aged between 75 to 79, your GP surgery should be in touch very soon to invite you in for a vaccination. When this happens, it’s a good opportunity to check you’re also up to date with your pneumococcal and shingles vaccines. These are also important vaccines to have as you get older, and if you need them they’re safe to have at the same time as RSV.

If you’ve not quite reached your 75^th birthday yet, don’t worry, the RSV vaccine will be on offer all year round, so you’ll be able to book in for your vaccine when the time is right.

You can find out more about the RSV vaccination programme, including the offer for pregnant women (28-36 weeks) and patient information leaflets on our vaccination webpage.”