A vaccination programme to protect newborn babies and older people against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is being rolled out in England, Wales and Northern Ireland on Monday, following a similar scheme in Scotland.
RSV is one of the common viruses that causes coughs and colds in winter, but it can cause severe and sometimes life-threatening breathing difficulties.
For the first time, women who are at least 28 weeks’ pregnant and elderly people aged 75 to 79 will be offered the vaccine.
Scotland began its RSV vaccination program last month.Andrew Gwynne, England’s minister for public health, launched the new jabs and said: “This is preventable, which is why this vaccine is so important. His grandson Lyle, now five, recovered after two weeks in intensive care with RSV as a baby. Mr Gwynne said he did not want anyone to go through the worry that he and his family faced.
Source: BBC
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