Is the bronchiolitis vaccine really useful for the elderly?

An initial assessment of the bronchiolitis vaccine in seniors has proven very positive in the United States, reveals a study published in the medical journal The Lancet. Well known in infants, this inflammation of the bronchioles also affects the elderly, especially when they are weakened by other pathologies. Its consequences are then much more serious and can cause hospitalization or even death. Bronchiolitis is most often due to the highly contagious respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), against which two vaccines are already marketed in 2023 and this year.

An 80% drop in hospitalizations among vaccinated people

The study, published in the medical journal The Lancet.and which covered nearly 30,000 hospitalizations of people over the age of 60 during the winter of 2023-2024, shows a drop of 80% in hospitalizations due to RSV among vaccinated people. RSV infection results in symptoms similar to those of the flu or Covid-19 and has no specific treatment. In France, nearly 300,000 people consult a doctor for a Brochiolitis Each winter, according to the Sentinel network, and in 2022-2023, RSV infection resulted in nearly 12,000 hospitalizations, including more than 2,000 in critical care units. People aged 60 and over accounted for 86% of these last hospitalizations and 1,050 of them died.

Faced with this health challenge, the High Authority for Health (HAS) recommended in June 2024 the vaccination of those aged 75 and over, as well as those aged 60 and over with a chronic respiratory or cardiac pathology. In addition to the two vaccines already available on the market at a price of around 200 euros, the HAS also ruled in October in favour of a third, mRESVIA, based on RNA, developed by the American laboratory Moderna.

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Associated with flu and Covid vaccines?

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One of the three vaccines could be injected at the same time as the other seasonal vaccines against influenza and Covid-19. Reimbursement of the vaccine for this category of population was planned by the previous government, but is not yet effective.