Cork TD calls on minister to assess RSV vaccine as virus cases rise

CORK TD Colm Burke has raised concerns about the number of people admitted to hospital this winter which he said has led to “a huge demand” for health services.

Raising concerns about the number of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) cases recorded in Cork recently, the Fine Gael health spokesman called on Health Minister Stephen Donnelly to initiate a health technology assessment for an RSV vaccine following recent advice from the National Immunisation Advisory Committee to put in place an immunisation plan for infants and older people.

RSV is a common winter virus with mild respiratory symptoms, but can lead to severe illness among infants, children aged under five years, and people aged 65 years and older.

While RSV-associated deaths among children in Ireland and other high-income countries are rare, the virus has been circulating at very high levels in recent months.

Raising the issue in the Dáil recently, Mr Burke said: “Respiratory viruses are reportable since 2012 and the figures are frightening. Last year, for the 2022 to 2023 winter months, 7,759 cases were reported; 2,231 of those were people over 60 years and over 636 ended up in emergency departments in our hospitals.

“Across Europe, over 274,000 hospitalisations for RSV have been identified and there have been 20,000 fatalities over the last 12 months. The vaccine has been approved by the European Medicines Agency since June. The question now is whether we take a decision to make vaccines available.

“There are two very vulnerable groups, namely those under two years and those over 65. There is a question about assessing cost and implementation, but it is also about saving lives. In real terms, it will save huge money because there would be fewer admissions to hospitals and fewer people needing to go to their GPs and requiring care.”

In response, minister of state Ossian Smyth said both Mr Donnelly and the chief medical officer share these concerns about the high levels of RSV circulating in the community.

He confirmed that the Department of Health has asked the Health Information and Quality Authority to carry out a health technology assessment on an RSV immunisation strategy to determine whether infant or adult immunisation would provide the greatest benefit in reducing healthcare utilisation due to RSV infection and what would be the most cost-effective RSV immunisation strategy.