4th Vaccine Approved for Pregnant Women

For the first time, three respiratory vaccines and one Tdap combination vaccine are now approved for use by late-stage pregnant women.

On September 22, 2023, members of the U.S. CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted 11-1 to recommend a maternal respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine for pregnant women during 32 through 36 weeks gestation to protect their newborn from severe RSV illness.

The newly approved Pfizer Inc.'s ABRYSVO™ bivalent RSVpreF vaccine prevents infants' RSV lower respiratory tract infection.

This RSV vaccine has been shown to reduce the risk of RSV hospitalization for babies by 57% in the first six months after birth.

RSV is a common respiratory virus that usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms but can cause severe consequences for children and older adults. In fact, RSV may cause bronchiolitis and pneumonia and can lead to fatal respiratory distress.

"This is another new tool we can use this fall and winter to help protect lives," said CDC Director Dr. Mandy Cohen in a media release.

"I encourage parents to talk to their doctors about how to protect their little ones against serious RSV illness, using either a vaccine given during pregnancy or an RSV (Beyfortus™, monoclonal antibody) immunization given to your baby after birth."

The CDC says to talk to your healthcare provider, pharmacist, or local community health center about which vaccines women need to stay protected this fall and winter.

On September 22, 2023, Sarah Schillie, MD, MPH, MBA CAPT, U.S. Public Health Service, presented during the CDC meeting: Addition of an Addendum to the 2023 Immunization Schedules for Children/Adolescents and Adults.

Of note, yellow fever and smallpox (mpox) vaccines are not recommended for pregnant women.

Furthermore, all ACIP vaccine recommendations are not considered final until published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

In Europe, the European Commission recently authorized Abrysvo for EU-wide marketing authorization.

The article was updated on Sept 25, 2023, with a corrected link.