SINGAPORE: Nearly two years after Singapore approved a vaccine for pregnant women to protect their newborns against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), more are opting for the jab.
But uptake remains too low to make a dent in infant hospitalisation rates, doctors said.
“So far, there has been no significant decrease in RSV-related infant admissions. The numbers remain steady and are similar to previous years,” said Dr Yang Linqi, a paediatrician at Thomson Paediatric Centre.
Anecdotally, he noted that some infants have contracted RSV despite maternal vaccination, although these cases appear to be milder and do not require hospitalisation.
“At this stage, the number of mothers receiving the RSV vaccine is still too low to create a noticeable impact,” he said.
RSV is a common respiratory virus with symptoms including cough and fever but can cause severe illness such as bronchiolitis and pneumonia in infants.
According to the World Health Organization, most children are infected by the age of two.
Unlike in temperate countries, RSV infections occur year-round in Singapore instead of seasonal spikes.
The RSV vaccine, Abrysvo, was approved in Singapore in 2024 for adults over the age of 60, and for infants through maternal vaccination. It is one of two RSV vaccines registered in Singapore but the only one licensed for use in pregnant women.
Manufactured by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, the Abrysvo jab can be given to women who are between 32 and 36 weeks pregnant, and the antibodies will be passed to their babies.
