Study finds RSV vaccine highly effective in protecting older adults from severe illness, hospitalization and death

A multi-state study, published in The Lancetis one of the first analyzes of real-world data on the effectiveness of the RSV (short for respiratory syncytial virus) vaccine. VISION Network researchers report that, overall, these vaccines were highly effective in older adults, even those with immunosuppression, during the 2023-2024 respiratory disease season, the first season after approval of RSV vaccine in the United States.

RSV vaccination provides approximately 80% protection against severe illness and hospitalization, intensive care unit admission, and death from respiratory infection, as well as similar protection against severe disease. less serious in adults who went to the emergency room but did not require hospitalization, aged 60 and over. older. Among this population, people aged 75 and older were at highest risk of developing severe illness and were most likely to be hospitalized.

The study was a collaboration between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and geographically diverse U.S. health systems and research centers with integrated medical, laboratory, and immunization records, all members of the VISION network from the CDC.

“Unlike this data study, RSV vaccine clinical trials were underpowered to assess the effectiveness of vaccines against serious illnesses requiring hospitalization. To address this evidence gap, we were able to “use the power of big data to determine RSV vaccine effectiveness, the information needed to inform vaccine policy,” said study co-author Shaun Grannis, MD, MS

“As a data scientist and family physician, I encourage older adults to follow CDC guidelines and get the RSV vaccine as we enter this and every year’s respiratory illness season.”

Dr. Grannis is vice president of data and analytics at the Regenstrief Institute and professor of family medicine at Indiana University School of Medicine.

In the United States, the respiratory illness season typically begins in late September or early October and continues through March or early April.

RSV affects the nose, throat, and lungs, causing severe illness and death in older adults during these seasonal outbreaks. In the years before an RSV vaccine was available, approximately 60,000 to 160,000 RSV-associated hospitalizations and 6,000 to 10,000 RSV-associated deaths occurred annually among U.S. adults aged 65 and older, according to the CDC.

“No vaccine is 100% effective. A vaccine effectiveness rate of 80% is quite impressive and higher than what we see, for example, with the flu vaccine,” said the co- Study author Brian Dixon, Ph.D., MPA.

“Ultimately, using real-world data from electronic health records routinely captured during care of people from diverse backgrounds, we found that having the vaccine provided high protection against hospitalization, serious illness and death.”

Dr. Dixon is interim director and research scientist at the Clem McDonald Center for Biomedical Informatics at the Regenstrief Institute and a professor at the Indiana University Indianapolis Fairbanks School of Public Health.

Dr Dixon added: “Studies like this are essential to understanding the effects of prevention techniques such as vaccination. The annual cost of RSV-related hospitalizations for adults in the United States is estimated to be $1.2 billion to $5 billion. Preventing up to 80% of hospitalizations could result in significant savings for consumers and the healthcare system.

VISION sites participating in the study were Permanente Northwest (Oregon and Washington), University of Colorado (Colorado), Intermountain Health Care (Utah), Regenstrief Institute (Indiana), HealthPartners (Minnesota and Wisconsin), and Kaiser Permanente Northern California (California). , representing 230 hospitals and 245 emergency departments.

Regenstrief brings data and scientific expertise to the VISION network.