Pregnancy vaccine reduces baby hospital admissions for RSV by 80%

A vaccine during pregnancy which protects newborns against nasty chest infections is cutting hospital admissions of babies by more than 80%, UK health officials say.

A virus, called RSV, affects many babies in the first few months of life and can leave them gasping for breath and struggling to feed, with more than 20,000 babies ending up seriously ill in hospital in the UK every year.

Since 2024, women have been offered a vaccine from 28 weeks of pregnancy to protect their newborns.

A new study analysing the impact of the vaccine shows it gives "excellent protection" to babies when they are most vulnerable to RSV, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) says.

RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) is one of the main reasons young babies are admitted to hospital before the age of one.

Half of newborns catch the virus, which can cause anything from a mild cold to a life-threatening chest infection because of inflammation in the lungs. Small numbers die from it every year.

The new vaccine was introduced in the UK in 2024 after clinical trials showed it could boost a pregnant woman's immune system enough to pass on protection to the baby through the placenta.

This means babies born to vaccinated pregnant women are protected from the day they are born.

This new study shows the protection is nearly 85% when given at least four weeks before baby is born. Some protection is still possible if the jab is given later than this.

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Source: BBC News, 18 April 2026