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Results from a large U.K. study show that vaccination against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) at least two weeks before giving birth has a significant protective effect against hospitalization for this infection in babies born to these mothers.

As reported at the congress of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases in Munich this week, the researchers found that vaccination reduced a baby’s risk of being admitted to hospital with serious RSV lung infections in the first months of life by around 80% versus no vaccination.

Notably, the benefit from vaccination increased if mothers were vaccinated at least four weeks before the baby was born, although even if they received the vaccine 10-13 days before delivery the risk of hospitalization for their babies in subsequent months still went down by 50%.

“As the largest study to date examining the impact of this vaccine on infant hospitalization, these findings provide robust evidence that vaccination offers substantial protection against severe illness in young infants,” commented lead author and UK Health Security Agency epidemiologist Matt Wilson in a press statement.

“We found a clear relationship between timing and protection, with effectiveness increasing as the interval between vaccination and birth lengthens, reaching close to 85% when vaccination occurs at least four weeks before delivery.”

After a national RSV vaccination campaign for pregnant women began in the U.K. in September 2024, around 55% coverage was reached by December of the same year. In total, 289,399 infants born between September 2024 and March 2025 were included in the cohort of which around 55% were vaccinated via maternal exposure. Vaccination was considered ‘full’ if mothers received it at least 14 days before giving birth.

The team followed up the babies for around three months after birth to monitor for RSV-associated lower respiratory tract infections requiring hospitalization, which affected a total of 4,594 babies.

Overall, unvaccinated babies had around seven times the rate of RSV‑related hospital admissions compared with babies whose mothers were vaccinated during pregnancy. Preterm infants also benefitted significantly from the vaccine.

“These findings are particularly important for preterm infants, who are among the most vulnerable to severe RSV infection,” said Wilson. “With sufficient time between vaccination and birth, we saw good levels of protection in these babies. Giving the vaccination early in the third trimester, as recommended by the World Health Organization, could protect most preterm infants.”

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