Updated · University of Minnesota Twin Cities · Jul 24
Nirsevimab Cuts Newborns' Pneumococcal Hospitalization Risk 36% in 530,000-Baby French Study
Updated
Updated · University of Minnesota Twin Cities · Jul 24
Nirsevimab Cuts Newborns' Pneumococcal Hospitalization Risk 36% in 530,000-Baby French Study
2 articles · Updated · University of Minnesota Twin Cities · Jul 24
Summary
French data on nearly 530,000 babies found newborns given nirsevimab were 36% less likely to be hospitalized with invasive pneumococcal disease within six months than those not immunized.
Seventeen immunized infants developed the infection versus 95 non-immunized babies, and the apparent protection lasted at least nine months; no immunized babies died, compared with six deaths in the non-immunized group.
Researchers examined the RSV antibody shot because prior evidence suggests RSV can leave babies more vulnerable to secondary bacterial infections, including severe pneumococcal disease.
Nirsevimab is approved to prevent RSV—not pneumococcal disease—and outside experts said the finding needs confirmation because invasive cases were few and the effect has so far appeared in only one study.
The result raises the question of whether other RSV preventives, including clesrovimab and the maternal vaccine Abrysvo, might also reduce invasive pneumococcal disease.
If nirsevimab may prevent both RSV and some severe bacterial infections, should infant prevention strategies be rethought now or only after replication?
Why did infants given Beyfortus show fewer invasive pneumococcal hospitalizations—and will larger studies confirm this unexpected benefit?