Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that patients at higher risk of severe illness from respiratory syncytial virus infection, such as those with pre-existing conditions or children who were born prematurely, are protected ahead of winter.

In line with independent expert advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccination programmes were introduced in England in September 2024 to protect infants, via maternal vaccination, and older adults at the greatest risk of harm from RSV infection. The JCVI did not provide advice on other groups, as the analysis that informed their advice looked at burden by age.

When advising on the introduction of the RSV programmes, the JCVI said that an extension to the initial programmes would be considered when there was more certainty about protection for patients at higher risk of severe illness from RSV, including people aged 80 years old and older, and the real-world impact of the programme for 75 to 80 year olds. Advice for individuals less than 75 years old in clinical risk groups, including the immunocompromised and those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, would be guided by emerging evidence on disease incidence.

At their October 2024 main committee meeting, the JCVI agreed that it would need to formally review the evidence for a potential extension to the programme for people aged 80 years old and older and those in clinical risk groups. During the main committee meeting of 5 February 2025, the JCVI noted that it planned further discussions on potential advice towards extending the programme to those over 80 years old. JCVI meeting minutes are publicly available on the GOV.UK website, in an online only format. The Department will consider any further JCVI advice on who should be offered an RSV vaccine in due course.

The National Health Service also offers high-risk eligible infants a monoclonal antibody called palivizumab over the RSV season. Palivizumab is typically reserved for premature infants with specific major underlying medical conditions. In February 2023, the JCVI advised that existing infant risk groups eligible for RSV monoclonal antibody immunisation should preferentially be protected with nirsevimab over palivizumab. In October 2024, the committee supported work being taken forward for such a programme for all very/extremely premature infants, ideally from 2025/26. However, to date it has not been possible for the NHS to obtain a supply of nirsevimab for the programme. We are continuing to explore all options to ensure there is effective protection against severe RSV illness for this high-risk group.