A recent study published in The Lancet, led by researchers from the VISION Network, provides one of the first real-world data analyses of the effectiveness of the Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) vaccine among older adults during the 2023–24 respiratory disease season. The findings suggest that the RSV vaccines offer robust protection against severe disease, hospitalization, and death in this population.
The study, which was a collaboration between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and various U.S. healthcare systems and research centers, reported that RSV vaccination provided approximately 80% protection against severe disease, hospitalization, Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admission, and death due to respiratory infections in adults aged 60 and older. Older adults aged 75 and above were at the highest risk of severe disease and were most likely to be hospitalized.
The researchers noted that clinical trials for the RSV vaccine did not have sufficient power to assess its effectiveness against severe disease requiring hospitalization. To address this gap in evidence, they utilized the power of big data to determine the RSV vaccine’s effectiveness, which is crucial for informing vaccine policy.
Dr. Shaun Grannis, M.D., M.S., a data scientist and family practice physician, and co-author of the study, encourages older adults to follow CDC guidelines and get vaccinated against RSV as the respiratory disease season begins. Dr. Grannis is the vice president for data and analytics at Regenstrief Institute and a professor of family medicine at the Indiana University School of Medicine.
RSV typically affects the nose, throat, and lungs, causing significant illness and death among older adults during seasonal epidemics. In the U.S., prior to the availability of an RSV vaccine, an estimated 60,000 to 160,000 RSV-associated hospitalizations and 6,000 to 10,000 RSV-associated deaths occurred annually among adults aged 65 and older, according to the CDC.
Dr. Brian Dixon, Ph.D., MPA, interim director and a research scientist with the Clem McDonald Center for Biomedical Informatics at Regenstrief Institute and a professor at the Indiana University Indianapolis Fairbanks School of Public Health, added that studies like this one are essential for understanding the impact of prevention techniques like vaccination. The annual cost of RSV hospitalization for adults in the U.S. is estimated to be between $1.2 and $5 billion. Preventing up to 80% of hospitalizations could lead to substantial savings for consumers and the healthcare system.
The participating VISION sites in the study included Permanente Northwest (Oregon and Washington), University of Colorado (Colorado), Intermountain Healthcare (Utah), Regenstrief Institute (Indiana), HealthPartners (Minnesota and Wisconsin), and Kaiser Permanente Northern California (California), representing 230 hospitals and 245 emergency departments. Regenstrief contributed data and scientific expertise to the VISION Network.
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1.Source: Coherent Market Insights, Public sources, Desk research
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