a second vaccine approved in France, specifically for pregnant women

A second vaccine against bronchiolitis in infants was approved Thursday June 13 by the High Authority of Health, franceinfo learned. After the Beyfortus monoclonal antibody approved in 2023, it is Abrysvo, a vaccine from the Pfizer laboratory, which is authorized. It is intended for pregnant women from the eighth month of pregnancy.

The Abrysvo has an advantage. In addition to immunizing the pregnant woman against the respiratory syncytial virus responsible for bronchiolitis, it will protect her baby from birth. The High Authority of Health notes a 67% drop in the risk of hospitalization for 3-month-old infants, and a 56% drop for 6-month-old babies.

No specific adverse effects were noted in studies. But while waiting to have data on the risks, or not, of premature births linked to this vaccine, the High Authority of Health prefers to recommend it to pregnant women only from the eighth month of pregnancy.

From September and the start of the bronchiolitis epidemic, parents will have the choice between two products to protect their newborn. On one side this Pfizer vaccine for pregnant women, Abrysvo, and on the other Beyfortus, the monoclonal antibody from the Sanofi and Astrazeneca laboratories, injected into infants from the maternity ward. The Beyfortus already proved its worth last winter. According to the Pasteur Institute, it has avoided nearly 6,000 hospitalizations of children for bronchiolitis.