Pregnant women in Singapore can get jab to protect babies from respiratory infection from Nov 1

SINGAPORE – From Nov 1, pregnant women can get a vaccine shot to protect infants against a viral respiratory 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 available at private general practitioner clinics and hospitals, including KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

In response to queries, KKH did not say how much the vaccine will cost, only that it would be “made affordable”.

Abrysvo is administered in a single dose through an injection to a muscle in the arm.

Experts recommend mums-to-be get the vaccine because infants can be susceptible to the virus.

Contracting RSV during infancy may increase the risk of long-term consequences such as asthma and wheezing, said Dr Mohana Rajakulendran, a consultant paediatrician at the Petite Practice clinic in Joo Chiat.

Professor Anne Goh, a senior consultant of respiratory medicine service at KKH, said: “RSV infection is a common cause of bronchiolitis and pneumonia in early infancy, resulting in hospitalisation.

“So, if fewer babies are getting infected or have milder disease, they will not need hospitalisation or frequent visits to the doctor.”

While the vaccine is administered mainly to protect newborn infants, it can also protect pregnant women against RSV, added Prof Goh.

RSV is the leading cause of acute lower respiratory tract infection in children under five globally, and results in three million hospitalisations and 60,000 deaths annually, according to a study published in the medical journal Lancet.

In Singapore, the virus accounts for more than 3 per cent of the hospitalisations of infants under six months, a study published in the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention found.

Dr Mohana said some babies of mums who received the vaccine were observed to have slightly lower weights at birth and a slight increased risk of jaundice. However, all babies remained healthy after delivery and did not experience major complications, she added.

Jaundice is a common condition in newborns, where their skin and eyes have a yellow tinge.

Prof Goh said that possible side effects that will be experienced by mothers who get vaccinated are usually mild, and can include headaches, muscle aches and soreness, redness or swelling at the injection site.

However, said Prof Tan Hak Koon, the chairman of the obstetrics and gynaecology division at KKH, those with a history of severe allergic reactions should not take the vaccine.