Life-saving jab given go ahead at chemists and GPs for virus responsible for 8,000 deaths a year

By ETHAN ENNALS FOR THE MAIL ON SUNDAY

Published: 22:06 BST, 19 April 2025 | Updated: 22:17 BST, 19 April 2025

Accessing a life-saving winter bug vaccine has been made easier by the Government this year.

Last year people aged between 75 and 79 and pregnant women were offered a first-of-its-kind jab against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

The bug is responsible for some 50,000 hospitalisations and linked to around 8,000 deaths a year.

Previously the RSV vaccine was predominantly available at GP surgeries. However, in an effort to get more vulnerable people vaccinated against the virus the Government will allow hundreds of community pharmacies to offer the jab.

RSV circulates in autumn and winter and is spread via coughs and sneezes, proximity to an infected person or contact with contaminated surfaces.

For most the symptoms are indistinguishable from a normal cold and may include a runny nose, cough or fever.

But every year RSV hospitalises around 30,000 children under five years old and 18,000 adults. About 100 children die from RSV every winter and it contributes to the deaths of 7,500 adults.

In an effort to get more vulnerable people vaccinated against the virus the Government will allow hundreds of community pharmacies to offer a jab against respiratory syncytial virus

Last year people aged between 75 and 79 and pregnant women were offered a first-of-its-kind jab. During trials the vaccine was shown to reduce symptoms by up to 80 per cent

During trials the vaccine was shown to reduce symptoms by up to 80 per cent.

It is given to those aged 75 and 79 to protect them from severe illness and death. At present there is not enough data to show it is also effective in over-80s.Pregnant women are encouraged to get the jab as it is common in infants under one year old.

Last year, around 50 per cent of those offered the jab took it.

Earlier this month the Department of Health and Social Care announced 200 community pharmacies had been approved to offer the RSV vaccine.

The move is part of a growing push for pharmacists to carry out more vaccinations in an effort to ease pressures on GPs.

‘We urge that pharmacies are commissioned to deliver a wider range of NHS vaccines nationally,’ says Malcolm Harrison, director of the Company Chemists’ Association.

‘We estimate that this could free up 10 million GP appointments each year.’

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Life-saving jab given go ahead at chemists and GPs for virus responsible for 8,000 deaths a year

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