- The Miles Government will invest $31 million towards a free Respiratory Syncytial Virus immunisation program.
- The 12-month program will be offered to more than 70,000 newborn babies, eligible infants and young children next month.
- RSV is the most common cause of hospitalisation among infants and young children.
Almost all Queensland children will experience at least one RSV infection by the time they turn two, with the virus the most common cause of hospitalisations among infants and young children.
The highly contagious virus attacks the lungs and can spread quickly, particularly between little ones.
While RSV can infect people of all ages, we know newborn babies and young children have tiny airways and what may seem like a cold, can rapidly turn severe, causing a range of respiratory illness including bronchiolitis or pneumonia.
That is why, the Miles Government will invest $31.06 million to rollout a free Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) immunisation program to more than 70,000 newborn babies, eligible infants and young children.
This year alone around 7,000 cases of RSV have been recorded in Queensland, which is double the number of cases in 2023 between the same period, 1 January to 24 March.
More than 2100 of the cases recorded so far this year are children under two years of age.
Last year, nearly 29,000 RSV cases were recorded. Of these, 9,703 cases were recorded among children under two years and hospital admissions accounted for more than 5,000 occupied paediatric bed days, of which 3,525 were for infants under one year of age.
This statewide paediatric RSV immunisation program will be rolled out ahead of the 2024 winter season.
From next month, the following infants and young children will be eligible for RSV immunisation:
- All newborn infants
- This will be offered as a dose at birth or prior to discharge from hospital.
- Infants born on or after the program commencement date who are not immunised in hospital, can access this dose up until they are less than 8 months of age.
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander infants less than 8 months of age.
- Infants with certain complex medical conditions less than 8 months of age.
- Infants with certain complex medical conditions from 8 months up to 19 months of age (inclusive), until 31 October 2024.
The program will use the monoclonal antibody product nirsevimab (brand name Beyfortus®), which was approved by the Therapeutic Good Administration (TGA) in November 2023 for use in infants and young children.
Due to limited global supply of nirsevimab, Queensland's immunisation program will ensure infants and young children at highest risk of severe disease from RSV are protected at the right time.
