Vaccine for mums-to-be to protect infants from respiratory viral infection

Antibodies will be passed on to the babies, who are highly susceptible to the virus

- Kolette Lim

From Nov 1, pregnant women can get a vaccine shot to protect infants against a respiratory viral infection with symptoms including cough and fever, which could lead to more serious conditions like pneumonia.

The Abrysvo vaccine protects infants - who are highly susceptible to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) - against lower respiratory tract disease caused by the contagious virus, until they are six months old.

RSV symptoms include cough, fever and body aches, and can result in pneumonia and bronchiolitis - an inflammation of the small airways deep inside the lungs.

The jab can be given to women who are between 32 and 36 weeks pregnant, and the antibodies will be passed to their babies. Abrysvo is manufactured by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer. It was approved by the Health Sciences Authority on July 23. It is the first such vaccine to be approved for pregnant women in Singapore.

The vaccine will be progressively made available at private general practitioner clinics and hospitals, including KK Women's and Children's Hospital.

In response to queries, KKH said the cost of the vaccine has not been decided yet. Abrysvo is administered in a single dose through an injection to a muscle in the arm.