A recent study found that the respiratory syncytial virus vaccine was highly effective in older U.S. veterans during the 2023-2024 respiratory illness season.
The study, published Jan. 20 in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, found the vaccine to be 78% effective against RSV infection, 79% effective against emergency department and urgent care visits and 80% effective against hospitalizations.
Here are four more notes:
- Only 24% of eligible U.S. adults 60 and older had received the RSV vaccine by the end of the 2023-24 respiratory illness season. The study compared 146,852 vaccinated veterans with 582,936 unvaccinated veterans, with a median age of 75.9 years.
- Vaccinated veterans experienced significantly fewer RSV-related hospitalizations and ED visits. Among vaccinated participants, there were 15 hospitalizations and 66 ED visits compared to 80.3 hospitalizations and 289.3 ED visits in unvaccinated individuals.
- No vaccinated veterans were admitted to intensive care units; there were 0.2 ICU admissions per 1,000 individuals in the unvaccinated group, according to a Jan. 24 news release from the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy.
- The study also found that those with weakened immune systems had the highest rates of RSV infection, but vaccination significantly reduced these rates. For veterans with weakened immune systems, RSV infections occurred at a rate of 19.9 events per 1,000 in the unvaccinated group, compared to 5.8 events per 1,000 in the vaccinated group.