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An approved vaccine for RSV remains effective against distinct viral variants, study suggests
Science Translational Medicine
A recently approved vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) can remain effective against a range of variants and produces strong antibody responses against distinct viral strains, according to a new study. The findings, which involved small and large animals and samples from older adults, indicate that the vaccine could offer enduring protection against both contemporary RSV and future variants, especially if combined with vaccine adjuvants. As the COVID-19 pandemic has showed, vaccines can sometimes lose their potency against viral infections as the virus mutates over time. Although RSV doesn’t seem to evolve as quickly as SARS-CoV-2 or influenza, research is still needed to determine whether vaccines for the virus will remain effective as the virus’s antigenic sites shift over time. In this study, Lionel Sacconnay and colleagues now show that the RSVPreF3 vaccine for RSV – which was recently approved in the US for older adults – can protect against a range of distinct strains of RSV in animals. Using a large dataset of RSV sequences gathered from 1990 to 2022, the scientists first characterized the most noticeable changes in the virus’s major antigenic sites over time. They selected a panel of six RSV strains with different combinations of these major variations, but found that antibodies induced by RSVPreF3 neutralized all the variants in culture. Furthermore, the vaccine elicited broad antibody responses in mice and in cows that effectively neutralized the six selected strains, especially when combined with the vaccine adjuvant AS01. A study of serum samples from vaccinated older adults also showed that the adjuvanted RSVPreF3-AS01 vaccine produced a strong antibody response against the RSV strains, suggesting that the adjuvant could help maintain the vaccine’s efficacy. “We expect RSVPreF3-AS01 to protect older adults against lower respiratory tract diseases not only caused by any contemporary RSV strain, but also by those that may emerge in the future,” the authors say, noting the breadth of the neutralization response elicited by the adjuvanted formulation.
Expert Reaction
These comments have been collated by the Science Media Centre to provide a variety of expert perspectives on this issue. Feel free to use these quotes in your stories. Views expressed are the personal opinions of the experts named. They do not represent the views of the SMC or any other organisation unless specifically stated.
Professor Ian Barr is Deputy Director of the Australian WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza
This is a report by GSK scientists that supports the GSK Elderly (60+ years old) RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) vaccine that has been approved for use by the US FDA on 3 May 2023. Data in the present study provides evidence that people vaccinated with the GSK RSV pre-F protein-based vaccine with or without an adjuvant (AS01), produced a broadly reactive immune response (based on the ability of antibodies in their sera) that neutralised a range of RSV strains that have previously circulated in the community. This was supported by animal data in which mice and cows were given these same RSV vaccines.
Hopefully, the GSK elderly adjuvanted RSV vaccine (Arexvy) (along with RSV vaccines from other manufacturers) will be available in 2025 or 2026 in Australia."
A/Prof John Blakey is a Consultant in Respiratory Medicine at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital & Adjunct Associate Professor at Curtin University
A respiratory viral infection is something most of us experience as an inconvenience. However, more than one in eight Aussies have a chronic respiratory condition like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and for them it’s a different story.
Viruses cause flares of these diseases leading to time off work, urgent GP visits, and hospital admissions. Several viruses, particularly RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) can also cause serious wheezing illness in young children and older adults without lung disease. As RSV is one of the commonest respiratory viruses, this represents a major issue.
In recent years there has been welcome progress toward a vaccine for RSV, now available for older adults in some countries. As viruses change over time and have different strains, there has been concern that this vaccine would not provide sufficiently broad and long-lasting protection.
The new study identified RSV variants from countries across the globe and across several years. They demonstrated that the vaccine produced a strong neutralising response across all strains tested. These results are very encouraging that an available vaccine could help reduce RSV infections and their potentially serious consequences at a large scale, reducing harm in vulnerable groups and saving resources in stretched healthcare systems.
