Further push for clarity on RSV maternal vaccines

The launch of the national RSV Mother and Infant Protection Program (RSV-MIPP) in February represented a significant step in helping to protect newborns from severe illness, with the addition of the maternal respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine Abrysvo to the National Immunisation Program (NIP) a few months earlier hailed as ‘world leading’.
 
By April this year, funded immunisation programs for nirsevimab (sold as Beyfortus), the long-acting monoclonal antibody for infants who are not already protected by the maternal RSV vaccine, became available across all states and territories, including in general practices.
 
But despite Australia’s lead in this public health initiative, the recent updates to maternal vaccination recommendations have also led to confusion among healthcare providers, says Professor Charlotte Hespe, Head of General Practice and Primary Care Research at the University of Notre Dame.
 
She told newsGP there is a need for clearer clinical education on maternal immunisation for healthcare professionals.
 
‘We’ve been incredibly fortunate to get the RSV-MIPP which gives free access to maternal RSV vaccines for pregnant women at 28–36 weeks gestation,’ Professor Hespe said.
 
‘But the biggest issue has been a somewhat fragmented rollout of the RSV program over the last 18 months – because we have a bit of a mish mash of who funds vaccines across the country.
 
‘We just want to make sure that we’re on top of it in terms of safety.’
 
Professor Hespe said much of the nationwide confusion arising is due to the NIP and state health-funded programs co-existing alongside overall guidance from the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI), providing advice on what is recommended for vaccinations across the populations in Australia.
 
She said this is especially given the emergence of RSV in a post-COVID world, with the virus going from historically ‘not talked about very much’ to becoming one of the leading causes of hospitalisations among babies.
 
‘All of a sudden, there were three RSV vaccines developed, two of which have come to Australia with slightly different approvals under the Therapeutic Goods Administration,’ she said.


‘Understanding each of those vaccines, offering the right one, and proactively having those conversations with patients is incredibly powerful’, says GP Professor Charlotte Hespe.

Recent data reveals the number of babies hospitalised with RSV nearly halved in 2025 compared to the same time last year, thanks to the availability of the vaccine and monoclonal antibody.
 
But Professor Hespe is backing calls for improved clarity around which vaccine or antibody product to prescribe for specific patient groups.
 
In August this year, ATAGI issued a statement on RSV administration errors which triggered some adverse events, which Professor Hespe says is ‘what you would expect to happen’.
 
‘Because there was no one rollout of funding an RSV protection vaccine, and there are three products – one product for one age group, one product for pregnant women, and one product is not for either, but for the elderly population, which is not being funded at all,’ she explained.
 
‘They’ve got ridiculously similar names, but also from my perspective, what’s not been very clearly discussed is if the babies get a vaccine.
 
‘Whereas if we used different language and said “we’re giving the babies a monoclonal antibody protection”, then at least it would show all of the health practitioners and everybody involved that it’s a completely different product, and we treat it in a different way.
 
‘So, it’s really important for GPs to understand what it is and who actually qualifies for it.’
 
As well as a clear statement for GPs around what the different products do, how they are stored and administered is another key issue.
 
‘If you stock it as a GP, you need to have it very clearly labelled that this is a monoclonal antibody – not the vaccine – and it’s for babies of this specific age group. Then we need to have, again, this clear understanding that there are two RSV vaccines,’ Professor Hespe said. 

‘They should have a very clearly labelled system in their fridges as to what they are and not mixed in with everything else … and a system where neither is administered without there being two people to check off that you’ve got the correct product for the correct person in front of you for that indication.’
 
Embedded in GPs’ role of overseeing vaccination as part of a holistic framework, Professor Hespe says communicating with patients so they understand why they are being vaccinated with RSV is key.
 
‘I find pregnant women want to do everything they can to protect their babies, so for them to understand that getting that vaccine between 28–36 weeks gestation is so highly protective against RSV for their babies,’ she said.
 
‘Regardless of who’s looking after them antenatally, make sure that you have a system where you alert all pregnant women to that vaccine they should be having at that stage of the pregnancy, the same as having the Boostrix where they get the whooping cough vaccine during that stage of the pregnancy.’
 
GPs also have a big role to encourage their older patients to be vaccinated, she said, to help minimise the number of people circulating the virus.
 
‘If you’re not already talking about it to your patients, do that, because if we can protect babies by making sure there are less adults around who might also be sick, and the same thing with protecting adults who might get it from young children,’ she said.
 
‘Remember how important your recommendation is for our patients to actually do these vaccinations.
 
‘Understanding each of those vaccines, offering the right one, and proactively having those conversations is incredibly powerful.’
 
Log in below to join the conversation.

Abrysvo antenatal care ATAGI immunisation maternal respiratory syncytial virus RSV vaccine