Pregnant mothers and newborn babies in every state will have access to free vaccines for the contagious respiratory virus RSV before next winter.
The Albanese Government is investing $174.5 million to provide pregnant women with free access to the maternal respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine, Abrysvo, under the National Immunisation Program.
It will also provide national access to a monoclonal antibody for young babies, Beyfortus, which is currently only available to vulnerable newborns in some states.
RSV is a common respiratory virus that infects the nose, throat, and lungs and is a leading cause of childhood hospitalisation.
Most children will catch RSV before the age of two, but Health Minister Mark Butler said 12,000 babies are admitted to hospital each winter with a severe case of the virus.
Spencer Boyd was hospitalised for nine days after catching RSV. (Louise Boyd )
“This is a world-leading approach to reduce the impact of RSV on babies,” he said.
“This investment will help keep around 10,000 babies out of hospital.”
The maternal RSV vaccine is currently only available privately for women in the late stages of pregnancy, and costs up to $350.
Adelaide parents Louise and Chris Boyd have welcomed the change, after watching their six-week-old baby Spencer lose consciousness in the car on the way to hospital in May, from RSV.
Louise Boyd, a respiratory nurse, said her son developed cold-like symptoms which quickly worsened into respiratory distress.
Baby Spencer spent nine days at the Lyell McEwin Hospital in Adelaide, connected to high-flow oxygen and a feeding tube.
Baby Spence became unresponsive in the car on the way to hospital, forcing his parents to call an ambulance. (Louise Boyd)
“Seeing your baby surrounded by machines, struggling to breathe, is absolutely awful,” Ms Boyd said.
“Access to RSV immunisation will bring peace of mind to families.”
The federal government flagged in September that it would try and strike a deal with the drug’s sponsor Pfizer and list the vaccine on the national immunisation program.
Immunisation Foundation of Australia director Catherine Hughes AM said after extensive campaigning by the foundation and health bodies, “the federal government has listened and acted”.
She said Western Australia was the first state to introduce its own all-infant RSV immunisation program, which led to an 84 per cent drop in hospitalisations.
Similar outcomes have been seen in Queensland, which also introduced a statewide infant RSV immunisation program in April, Ms Hughes said.
