September 2025: A recent study involving researchers from the Centre for Inflammation Research on the effectiveness of a maternal RSV vaccine has been cited in the House of Lords, the Sun Newspaper and the UKHSA national RSV vaccination promotion materials. A recent study published in the Lancet showed the RSV vaccine to be 72% at preventing hospitalisation. A new RSV vaccine Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the lead cause of acute lower respiratory infections in infants younger than 6 months. In summer 2024, a maternal RSV vaccine was introduced in the UK with all pregnant women at 28 weeks or more eligible for vaccination. Researchers from across the UK, led by Dr Thomas Williams from Child Life and Health at the University of Edinburgh, aimed to understand the effectiveness of this vaccine in a real-world setting. In order to do this, researchers conducted the BronchStop Study, which surveyed mothers, calculated vaccine effectiveness, and collected viral samples across England and Scotland in the 2024-2025 winter season. 72% effectiveness The survey showed that the vaccine was highly acceptable to pregnant women, but they faced logistical barriers to uptake. The analysis using an approach called a test-negative design found that the vaccine was highly effective (72%) in preventing infant hospitalisation as long as it was received by a pregnant women more than 2 weeks before delivery Overall the maternal RSV vaccine was judged to be effective in reducing the risk of hospitalisation in infants. Read the full paper in the Lancet here Informing policy Researchers shared full results from the maternal survey with Public Health Scotland and the United Kingdom Health Security Agency (the public health agency for Scotland) to inform their vaccination strategy. Results from the maternal survey, and the vaccine effectiveness data, were used in a Ministerial briefing, shared with the Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation, and was cited in World Health Organisation recommendation to introduce RSV immunisation globally. Gaining national attention Results from the study were also reported on the BBC and ITV websites, on BBC Scotland, on LBC News, and the Independent, Sun and Daily Mail newspapers, amongst other media outlets. They were included in UKHSA’s promotion of the RSV vaccination in August 2025, and cited in a debate in the House of Lords on maternal RSV vaccination in September 2025. In order to encourage pregnant women to consider getting the vaccine, researchers presented the results at a UK-wide seminar organised by the Royal College of Midwives, and at a webinar hosted by the International Society for Respiratory Viruses, which had registered attendees from over 300 delegates from across the globe. Future work Looking to the future, samples collected in the 2024-2025 study season will be sequenced to understand whether genetic variability in the virus might affect vaccine effectiveness. Researchers will conduct the study again this winter (2025-2026) to look at vaccine effectiveness in older babies (only the smallest benefitted from last year’s vaccination campaign), and to understand ways in which to increase uptake of the vaccine further. Related links Child Life and HealthThomas WilliamsUKHSA RSV vaccination programmeHouse of Lords debateArticle in The SunMaternal views on RSV vaccination during the first season of implementation in England and Scotland Publication date 15 Sep, 2025
