RSV vaccine approved for use in at-risk over-50s

The RSVPreF3 OA vaccine (sold as Arexvy) has been approved for use in adults aged 50–59 at greater risk for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
 
The move by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) expands on the indication for the protein-based vaccine, which was first approved for at-risk adults aged over 60 in early 2024.
 
Dr Kerry Hancock, Chair of RACGP Specific Interests Respiratory Medicine, said the TGA approval for Arexvy gives more options to patients at a time of widespread RSV cases.
 
‘Once again this year, we’ve seen a lot of RSV around,’ she told newsGP. 
 
‘We don’t have sustained immunity to it from one year to the next, it is a nasty illness – and we do get concerned about people with chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and bronchiectasis.
 
‘This is expanding the options for those people and gives them an opportunity to access this vaccine.’
 
Arexvy is one of two vaccines approved for use in older adults in Australia, the other being Abrysvo.
 
A single dose of either Arexvy or Abrysvo is recommended for all people aged 75 years and over, adults over 60 at greater risk of respiratory tract disease, and all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 60 years and above.
 
With both vaccines currently only available privately for these older age groups – Arexvy is around $300 per dose – Dr Hancock said some eligible patients may not take the opportunity to have the vaccine due to the cost.
 
‘We need to be reminding those people to have their National Immunisation Program (NIP)-funded vaccines for influenza and COVID, and also to minimise their risk of infection by avoiding people unwell with respiratory illness,’ she said.  
 
‘And if they do have flare-ups, that they follow their action plans so they can manage them effectively.’
 
Last year, there were 175,786 cases of RSV nationwide, the highest since RSV became a notifiable disease in 2021. These included more than 41,000 cases in adults aged older than 50, according to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System.
 
There has also been a significant expansion in immunisation against the disease over the past year in Australia.
 
Abrysvo is now on the NIP for pregnant women at 28–36 weeks gestation, with the vaccine becoming available in general practices in February this year.
 
A program for nirsevimab (sold as Beyfortus) is also now running in every Australian state and territory, with the long-acting monoclonal antibody available for infants who did not receive a maternal vaccine.
 
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Arexvy respiratory diseases respiratory syncytial virus RSV vaccination