On the Respiratory Syncytial Virus Vaccine

Abstract

See review article by Kahlon et al. With this issue of the Journal is the short review, “The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Respiratory Syncytial Virus”, and during its submission to publishing process, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) approved a respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine for adults in May— twice. Generally, RSV accounts for 60,000 to 160,000 adults being hospitalized per year, and the virus kills 6,000 to 10,000 adults per year. The highest risk factors are age ≥65 years, heart disease, lung disease, and immunosuppression. From the perspective of viruses, SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 dominated the winter respiratory seasons of 2020–21 and 2021– 22. From the perspective of the research scientists, their decades-long work on a vaccine for RSV was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic as resources shifted from RSV to SARS-CoV-2. The remaining work accelerated, however, after the pandemic waned in 2022–23. The history of an RSV vaccine is worth mentioning to appreciate the recent progress that has been made, including the release and approval of multiple vaccines.