Hospitals have seen 44% fewer newborns with acute respiratory syncytial virus infection since the new immunisation programs for pregnant women and infants began, the first real-world Australian evidence shows.

The surveillance data from the PAEDS-FluCAN Network also suggests effectiveness of 81% for maternal vaccination and 90% for nirsevimab — the immunotherapy given to newborns — researchers wrote in a preprint last week.

Effectiveness was based on 1404 children with known immunisation status, the University of WA-led team said.

“This is the first study estimating immunisation effectiveness of a hybrid program in Australia and the Southern Hemisphere, demonstrating that the hybrid respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) immunisation program is highly effective against RSV-associated hospitalisation in children.”