Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 25 March 2025 to Question 36961, whether there is a licensed direct infant immunisation for respiratory syncytial virus; and if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of maternal rather than direct infant immunisation on health outcomes.

The Government’s decisions on who to offer immunisations to, and which products are suitable, are based on expert advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).

In June 2023 the JCVI advised, for infant protection against the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), for either a programme of maternal antenatal vaccination with Pfizer’s Abrysvo PreF vaccine or for infant immunisation with Sanofi’s monoclonal antibody nirsevimab (Beyfortus). Following a competitive tender, the new RSV vaccination programmes began in September 2024 for older adults and pregnant mothers, to protect infants, both using the Pfizer vaccine.

The UK Health Security Agency undertakes evaluation of national immunisation programmes and will be evaluating the impact and effectiveness of the RSV maternal vaccination programme for infant protection, once sufficient data is available. The JCVI will continue to keep the RSV programme under close review.