Pregnant women in particular are being urged to get the new vaccine, which can protect newborns.
A vaccination programme to protect newborn babies and older people against respiratory syncytial virus is being rolled out in England, Wales and Northern Ireland on Monday, following a similar scheme in Scotland.
For the first time, women who are at least 28 weeks' pregnant and elderly people aged 75 to 79 will be offered the vaccine.Andrew Gwynne, England’s minister for public health, launched the new jabs and said: “This is preventable, which is why this vaccine is so important.”Mr Gwynne said he did not want anyone to go through the worry that he and his family faced.It is estimated that 20,000 babies are hospitalised in England each year with illnesses linked to RSV, and up to 30 die as a result.
The virus also affects elderly people and contributes to 9,000 admissions for pneumonia each year, according to experts.Paediatrician Yasmin Baki, who works at UCLH in London, said they see 500 patients each winter with RSV.
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