6.M. Round table: Respiratory syncytial virus vaccination in Europe – where are we now, challenges and opportunities?

Abstract Background Two new prevention strategies to prevent severe Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) have been approved; a vaccine for pregnant women was licensed by the European Medicines Agency in 2023 and a monoclonal antibody, nirsevimab, for infants in 2022. Different European countries are at different stages of recommending and implementing RSV prevention strategies for their pregnant and infant populations. The maternal vaccine, for example, has been part of the routine schedule in the United Kingdom (UK) since September 2024 and Galicia, in Spain, was one of the first regions to introduce nirsevimab. Introducing new vaccinations for infant and pregnant populations presents different challenges in different settings due to varying demographics and service delivery issues. For example, in the UK the maternal RSV vaccine is being offered primarily in hospital antenatal settings, whereas existing vaccines, such as maternal pertussis were offered predominantly through primary care, with some additional hospital delivery. There are pre-existing inequalities in both maternal and infant vaccine uptake. Data from England suggests these inequalities are being mirrored in the maternal RSV programme. Only 53.1% of pregnant women had an RSV vaccine, in data from January 2025 and uptake varied by ethnic group. The lowest coverage is among Black or Black British-Caribbean ethnic group (28.2%) compared to 61.1% uptake among the White British ethnic group (UK Health Security Agency data). The workshop will aim to • Inform participants about country-specific policies on RSV vaccination. • Highlight different challenges that countries have in implementing new RSV vaccinations (including how RSV programmes have been introduced alongside existing vaccinations). • Discuss vaccine uptake inequalities and how different countries are trying to address uptake inequalities when introducing the new RSV vaccinations. • Identify shared learning from the introduction of the new RSV vaccines across different European countries. Added value The sharing of insights from different experiences at early stages of the RSV vaccination programmes will allow countries to learn from each other's successes and challenges. The workshop will be relevant for practitioners, policymakers and researchers supporting RSV programmes across Europe and beyond, facilitate knowledge exchange between different countries and stimulate interest in cross-country collaborative research into RSV vaccine programmes. Format The format will be a roundtable discussion involving brief presentations by the panel members from different countries followed by facilitated discussions with the audience. Following the facilitated discussion attendees will be asked to contribute to a co-produced interactive summary of lessons learned and next steps. The co-produced summary from the workshop will be synthesised into a blog or policy briefing from the European Public Health Association Child and Adolescent Section. Key messages • Share learning from across Europe on the implementation of the new Respiratory Syncytial Virus vaccine programmes including how inequalities are being addressed. • Determine key challenges countries have faced in implementing the new programme which could identify opportunities for cross country learning and policy innovation. Speakers/Panellists Sonia Saxena Imperial College London, London, UK Michael Edelstein Bar-Ilan University, Faculty of Medicine, Safed, Israel Laura Mannion RCSI, Dublin, Ireland